We Are Young
by Chuahua22
Summary: This is the story of 3 young girls, Lexie Marie Goodson, Lauren Anderson and Sofia Pierce-Smith and their lives in McKinley High...*contains refernces to abuse and anorexia*
1. Chapter 1

_This is the story thats me AliRoseGomez and FlyingOnAKlainebowOverDalton came up with. Mostly written by AliRoseGomez and edited by me :D hope you like it!_

_Characters backstorys _

_Sofia: .net/s/7698777/1/_

_Lexie: .net/s/7698854/1/_

_Lauren: .net/s/7705938/1/_

Lexie's POV

'Finn's here! See you later.' I hugged my dad as my cousin, Finn Hudson, drove up to our new home, in Lima, Ohio.

'Have a good first day sweetie. I'll see you at the Hummel-Hudson household later for dinner.'

'Got it. Bye.' I hugged him again before Finn beeped his horn.

I ran out of the house and down the pathway to climb into the back of his car.

'Hey Finn, hey Kurt.' I spoke to my cousin and his step-brother, who we've spent a lot of time with since we moved out here from New Jersey.

'Hi Lexie. We're going to go pick Blaine up from his house before dropping him and Kurt off at their school.' Finn explained.

'Cool.'

'Are you nervous?' Kurt turned around and asked me. I was, but I didn't really want to show it.

'Nope. I think it's going to be fun.' Even as I said that, I felt my stomach turn.

'Ok.' He spoke slowly, as if he didn't believe me. 'Anyway, you look really good today, so you should be fine.'

'I thought so too. It's from the new Dream Out Loud collection.'

'Why am I not surprised? It's cute anyway.' Kurt's amazing; I've been close to him since Carol and Burt's wedding, and I've always been close to Finn.

After a while, we arrived at this massive house. I heard some shouting before this dude came running out, with some pink sunglasses hanging out of the top pocket of his blazer that matched Kurt's. He came and sat next to me, breathing kinda heavily.

'You must be Lexie. I'm Blaine, Kurt's boyfriend.' Kurt went red at this.

'I know. He hasn't stopped talking about you all weekend.'

He took my hand and shook it firmly while smiling.

'Hey, you must be a fan of Selena Gomez; you're wearing clothes from her collection.'

'Yup. She's amazing.' I grinned happily, trying not to go anymore into it. I noticed a bruise on his wrist.

'Um, what's that?' He blushed and tried to pull his sleeve further down, to no avail.

'Nothing, um, nothing; I banged it on a door handle last night.'

'Right, ok.'

'Dude, where's your sister?' Finn suddenly asked.

'Well she left half an hour before me, supposedly to go to school, but I don't know.' He explained hesitantly.

'Ok. Here's your stop guys. I'll see you later, after glee.'

'See ya bro.' Kurt called back to the car. 'And good luck Lexie.'

'Thanks Kurt.' I waved at him before he skipped into this huge school.

Luckily, McKinley won't be this big.

'Lexie, what's your locker number?' Finn asked me as we neared the school. I pulled my schedule and information out of my bag and looked for it.

'Um...263.'

'That's just across from mine; I'll get to keep an eye on you.' Finn smiled at me via the rear view mirror.

'Oh yeah, I really want that.' I laughed, half-sarcastically.

'Very funny. You met Principal Figgins on Friday, right?'

'Yup, and Ms Pilsbury. She was nice.'

'She is. Have you met your homeroom teacher? Who is it?'

'No I haven't. His name is Mr Schuester or something.'

'Oh my gosh, he's the best teacher in the school. I'm so jealous.'

He kinda seemed like he was joking at this, but he was genuine about him being cool.

'He's the teacher that runs glee club.'

'What is glee?' The name sounded kinda nice.

'It's a singing thing. There's about 10 of us, and we have so much fun.' He paused. 'Hey, you sing, and you're quite good at it; why don't you join? Then you don't have to wait for me after school.'

'Yeah, I might.' I want to meet this Schuester dude first, but it sounds ok.

'Right, here we are.' He turned to me after we had both got out of the car. 'Don't worry kiddo, you'll be fine.' Apparently I looked nervous.

'Please don't call me that in front of everyone. But thanks, anyway.'

He hugged me before we slowly made our way inside.

Sofia's POV

I watched from down the hallway as Finn hugged some random kid. I have no idea why, but I instantly hated her. A plan started to form immediately. I'm going to make her life hell. Ok, maybe not that bad, but it'll be worse than uncomfortable. I approached Rachel's locker as she looked in it. I don't like her either, but she's alright.

'Berry.' I laughed as she jumped out of her skin, Oh it's fun annoying the Seniors.

'Oh, it's you. What do you want Sofia?' She sighed.

'Nothing. I just wanted to let you know... Finn's over there, hugging some child or whoever.' Hopefully she will get pissed at this girl.

'Oh, yeah, that's his cousin. She's just moved to the area.'

'Right... so you're not mad?' She has a way of foiling my plans.

'Well, she is going to be taking a load of his attention that should be on me.' Rachel thought out loud. Bingo! This is what I wanted.

'You should go over and show her whose boss.'

'Nah, I'll be nice. For now.' Her voice travelled back to me as she walked away.

Lexie's POV

Me and Finn were talking about basically nothing, when this girl came and draped her arms around him.

'Hi Finn.'

'Um, hey Rach.' He mumbled while taking her arms off. 'This is my cousin, Lexie. Lex, this is my girlfriend, Rachel.'

'Hi.' I smiled at the girl, who had long, almost black hair. She turned from Finn and gave me a funny look.

'Hey Lexie.' This is awkward.

'Mr Schue!' Finn stopped a teacher in the middle of the hallway.

'Hi Finn, um, are you ok?' He asked, seeming kinda worried.

'Yeah, I thought that I should introduce my cousin to you. She's going to be in your homeroom.' Finn put his arm around my shoulder and pushed me forward a little.

'Oh, hi. You must be Alexandra.' He smiled at me.

'Um, actually, everyone calls me Lexie, if that's ok.'

'That's cool; Lexie it is.' He paused when the bell rang. 'You better come with me now. See you later guys.' He glanced back at Finn and Rachel before looking at me again to go.

Sofia's POV

I watched as Mr Schue walked to his homeroom with Finn's cousin; I have a feeling I'll be seeing this girl at glee tonight. I slammed my locker and pulled out my cell before walking to my class. It started to ring, and I glanced at the ID as I answered it.

'Hey Lauren. What's up?'

'Hi. Alright. There was another argument today.' She sighed.

'Oh gosh; what happened this time?'

'Dad tried to get Blaine to play football yesterday, and Blaine refused, as usual.'

'He tried again?'

'Yeah. Blaine didn't talk to him last night, and it all blew up this morning. I don't know how it happened, but Dad managed to get a bruise on Blaine's wrist. He won't tell me why.' I heard her voice start to crack.

'What are you doing today? Are you going to school?' The subject had to be changed.

'Nah. I must be closer to getting kicked out.'

'I don't think so. You need to go do something in lessons or whatever.'

'Yeah I'll have to think about that. Do you think I could come to your glee tonight?'

'Probably. I've got to go. See you later. Don't go do something too crazy, ohh and don't forget to eat.'

'I won't, don't worry. Thanks Sofia.'

'Anytime Lauren. Bye.' I have to worry about that girl.

I sat down in the back of the room and answered my name when it was called during the register. When that was done I put my headphones in and turned on my iPod. Before one song even ended I got a text from Finn.

'_Hey everyone. As some of you know, my cousin moved here recently. She just text me and said that she is coming to Glee tonight! Be nice y'all and we could have a new member by tonight :)'_

Ugh damn I knew it. Oh well, I'll just kick her chair or something.

I looked up after a while when I heard the door slam. It was Rory, late as usual. He sat in front of me and turned back.

'Hey Sofia.'

'Hey dude. Did you get Finn's text?'

'Yes, I'm very excited to see his cousin; and we might have a new member.'

'Really? I saw her earlier and didn't like her.'

'Maybe when you actually meet her you'll like her.'

'Yeah I don't think so.' I sighed and leant back. 'There was something about her. Anyway, have you spoken to Lauren yet?'

'Yup. Her dad sounds horrible; I feel so sorry for her.'

'So do I, but there's nothing much we can do.'

I sighed again.

Lauren's POV

I walked through the mall, just thinking. The argument that Blaine and Dad had this morning was the worst that they've had in a while. I hate them arguing. I just end up sitting in my room for a bit. And I know Mom does the same. The worst thing is when I hear a bang, That does not mean something good has happened. I don't even want to think about what it actually means. I checked the time on my phone: 2pm. Today is dragging. I might as well walk to McKinley and be there a bit early. I really need to think about something to do at my school to get kicked out.

I walked into the New Directions' meeting room, and nearly everyone was there already, but not Sofia. Rory was though. I went and sat next to him.

'Hey Rory.'

'Lauren! I was hoping you'll come today. What's the crack? I mean, how was your day?' Oh I love the Irish accent and sayings, Especially my best friends.

'Long. I walked through the mall all day. I woulda gone to the park too, but it's kinda cold.'

'Yes it is. Oh well, you're inside now.'

I jumped when I some arms went round my neck and hugged me.

'Lauren, I can't believe you got here before me! I was going to try and beat you!' Sofia went and sat on the other side of me.

'Well you didn't Sofia! So HA!' I jokingly stuck my tongue out at her and she rolled her eyes.

'Did you eat today?'

Ugh why does she always ask me that? Every day. I looked away.

'So, where's Finn? He's usually here before me.'

'Don't change the subject. You need to eat Lauren.'

She lowered her voice.

'You're meant to be recovering. Do you want to go back into the clinic?'

'Noooo...' I whined back at her. I hate being a recovering anorexic.

'Well then you have to eat.'

'Yeah but I've been really stressed today after this morning.'

'That's no excuse Lauren. Please promise me that you'll try to get better, you really scared me the last time. And the time before that. You can't go that far again. You nearly died.'

Her voice kinda turned into a hoarse whisper before she turned around with tears in her eyes.

'Ok, I promise. I promise I won't nearly die. I promise I'll eat. I promise I promise I promise.' I pleaded with her.

'Ok, I believe you. And I'll help you more this time.' She took my hand and squeezed it as Finn came in with a random new girl.

'Hey guys.'

He stood in front of everyone, and looked at us.

'Oh, hi Lauren. Anyway, this is my cousin, Lexie.'

She looked kinda alarmed at that introduction. This kid was cute; she must be a freshman. She nervously stared at everyone, so I smiled at her. The worst feeling EVER is being in front of people you don't know. Well, at the moment it is the worst feeling... this morning was definitely worse.

Lexie's POV

I can't believe I'm actually standing here in front of everyone. I would never have done that back in New Jersey. Mr Schuester - or Mr Schue as everyone else seems to call him - told me I should sing something, I just groaned. I looked at this emo-ey looking girl who smiled at me. She just made me feel better about singing, so I told the pianist what song I wanted to do and shut my eyes...

Lauren's POV

I watched Lexie sing, she's good for a junior! Once her performance was over, she sat down next to Finn. I felt my cell vibrate, it was a text from Finn.

'_Do you wanna come round my house tonight? Burt is doing dinner, and you and Blaine are invited.'_

That family has helped me so much over the past few months, and they have been such good people towards Blaine. I think they know what's going on at home. I mean, even if Burt and Carole don't, Finn definitely does...

'_Thanks Finn :) I think I will.'_

'_Kay. After glee, come with me and Lexie to go pick up Blaine and Kurt.'_

'_Awesome :D'_


	2. Chapter 2

During glee, Mr Shue said that we were going to have a special assignment next time we meet. Well, technically I shouldn't be there, but nobody says anything. Afterwards, I walked out with Sofia and Rory before quickly walking to Finn's car; it's so cold.

Lexie's POV

When the emo-ey girl started to come towards us, Finn told me that she's Blaine's sister. She is epic. Her boots were black DM's with pink lining and stitching on them. She got in the car. 'Hey, you sing really good. My name's Lauren by the way.'

'Um, hey. I like your shoes.'

'Yeah they're cool. And really comfortable. Here, feel them.' She lifted her leg and rested her foot on the seat of the car.

'Um, ok.' I slowly reached out. 'Ooh, they're soft!'

'I know!'

As soon as we got to Dalton Academy, Lauren got out of the car, and Blaine hugged her really tightly and spun her around. After, Lauren told me that it was their routine when they hadn't seen each other for a while. They are really close.

When we got to Finn's house, and all got out of the car, he turned to me. 'So, do you think you'll join the New Directions?'

'Who?' I looked at him, confused.

'The glee club. It's our official name.' He laughed.

'Oh ok. Then yeah, I will. I liked it. Now it's just a problem of getting everyone's names.'

'It'll be alright; they'll help you through it. Can I text all of them your number? That's how we usually communicate.'

'Um, yeah ok.'

'Cool. Everyone will send you a text with their name on; I'll help you know who it is.'

'Thanks Finn.' We walked into the house and into the living room.

'Lexie, come to my room in a bit, and we can do our homework.'

'Um, ok thanks.' I gave him a funny look.

'Hey, don't look at me like that; I know what you're like.'

'Fair enough.' I rolled my eyes.

'Hey Dad.' I sat next to him on the couch.

'Hi sweetie. How was your first day?' He hugged me.

'It was great. I joined Finn's glee club.'

Sofia's POV

I was sitting at my desk, pretending to do my homework, when my phone rang. It was Lauren. Great! 'Hey Lauren, everything ok?'

'Yeah, but I'm kinda nervous.'

'Why are you nervous?'

'Well, you know how I'm gonna go into school tomorrow and try to get kicked out?'

'Yeah...'

'What will my dad say? He might...do stuff.'

'He won't do anything Lauren. You're his daughter. His princess. Don't worry.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes. What are you going to do?'

'I'm just going to try and break as many rules as possible.'

'Oh ok. Well, good luck then.'

'Thanks. I better go, Burt is calling for dinner.'

'Wait, you're round Finn's house?'

'Yeah, with Blaine and Lexie.'

'Kay. Speak later.' I rang off. That annoying existence better not get too close to Lauren. She will feel the consequences otherwise.

Lauren's POV

The next day, I had to decide what to wear. The two things that we are definitely not allowed to wear at Crawford Country Day school are jeans and hoodies. And make-up isn't liked. Neither are trainers. Private school rules are so easy to break when you want to, especially the uniform ones, because they are so strict. I chose my skinniest jeans and I borrowed one of Blaine's bright hoodies. I checked my timetable. We have English period two. The teacher is definitely the strictest of the school... I mean, she checks our belongings for 'contraband'. Like, seriously? I grabbed my Dad's cigarettes; they are gross, but oh well, they should get a quite a reaction.

I walked into school late and sat in my form room. It was hilarious; my tutor reeled back when I walked in. 'Miss Anderson, can I talk to you outside please?' She stood up as I rolled my eyes.

'Fine.' I followed her out, and she led me to the principal's office.

'As you can see, Lauren is not dressed according to the rules. And she has masses of make-up on.'

'I don't have that much on.' I frowned at the same time as Mr Johnson.

'Lauren, why are you dressed like that?' He asked.

'Because I wanted too. I wanted to be comfortable here for once. Is that a crime?'

'Yes, in this school it is. Mrs Morgan, you can go.' She walked out back to class. 'Where have you been for the past couple of weeks?'

'I don't know; wherever I felt like being. Mostly at the mall or the park.' My cell went off at that point. Loudly. I checked it and it was a text from Rory.

'So you're not in your uniform, you are being rude, you are skipping school, and when you are here, you not only have your phone, but it's on loud?'

'Erm, yeah, duh...' I trailed off.

'Unfortunately, I can't do much about this, other than give you detention. I will call home and tell your parents; and I will see you after school. Goodbye.'

After about an hour, as I was going into English, I got another text - luckily this time my phone was on silent - from my Dad. Oh gosh. '_You are in big trouble missy. I am picking you up from detention. Do not text back.' _Oh that's just great. I text Rory back from earlier and then text Finn, asking him not to pick me up.

'Right! Everyone, bags open, on your desk.' The teacher is actually a nut. 'Lauren, you first.' She looked in my bag for a while before pulling out the cigarettes from the morning. I totally forgot about those. 'What are these Lauren?'

'Um, I don't know...'

'So you're lying to me? Go to the principal, with this note.' She handed the piece of paper to me and gave me my bag.

'Lauren! You're in here again? What is it this time?' I gave him the note. 'Cigarettes? Give me your bag. With this morning plus now, you are in big trouble. I'm calling your father.'

'No, please!' I didn't actually want him to stop, he can call my Dad; I just want to go to McKinley with Sofia, Rory, and the rest of the glee people.

'I have to Lauren; this has gone on for too long. You should have got excluded after you bought matches in a few weeks ago, and then didn't come into school. Just sit in that chair for now.' He picked up the phone. 'Your father is coming in to talk to me about your behaviour. He didn't sound too happy, so be prepared.'

Me and my Dad came of the office a few minutes after he got in there. I got permanently excluded. How bittersweet. Bitter because now I am in major trouble, and sweet, because now I can try get into McKinley. YEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

'What were you thinking Lauren? Bunking off school for weeks at a time, taking matches in, not wearing your uniform. And the cigarettes? You're fifteen Lauren; how did you even get them?'

'Um...'I paused.

'Lauren, how did you get them?' He turned towards me and stopped.

'They're yours.' I looked down.

'So you're stealing too?' He started walking to the car again. 'Come on, we've got some things to sort out.' He opened the passenger door. 'In, now.'


	3. Chapter 3

Lauren's POV

The silence was killing me.

'Dad, I'm really sorry!' He glanced at me, and I gave him the saddest look I could.

'Ok honey; don't worry, you're not in any major trouble.'

'Ohh thanks Dad. So, what is my punishment?' I asked cautiously, not wanting to ruin his surprisingly 'not angry' mood.

'I'm transferring you to McKinley High.' Wait, did I hear that right?

'May I ask why?'

'Well if you are going to waste my money by not going to the school that I'm paying for, then I might as well send you to one where I don't have to pay at all.' I feel so guilty: Blaine's never had 'punishment' this good before, and it's like, the worst I've ever been given in about a year. Dad has become so kind to me... Sometimes I wish Dad would hit me still, just so Blaine doesn't have to endure it alone anymore. I took out my cell and text Rory, Sofia, Lexie, and Finn that I was joining their school.

'I'm taking you to McKinley now, try and be good while you're there. Please?'

'I will do Dad; don't worry.'

How did he get a transfer so quickly? He must have been planning this.

'Sofia goes to that school, doesn't she?'

'Yeah she does.'

'There you go; that's an added bonus. I've seen their singing group on TV recently You've got a great voice, maybe joining that will help you have a fresh start and keep on the right track.'

Oh if only he knew...

'That's a good idea Dad. I'll think about it.'

'That's my girl!' He smiled at me. Even though I feel guilty for Blaine, I guess I am kinda lucky that my Dad treats me like that. We're not as close as Lexie and Tom, we used to be... but we're nearly back there again.

Sofia's POV

After school Brittany, Santana and I walked to my detention, earned by cursing in Mrs Hagberg class. Luckily all three of us have cheer practice, and nobody would mess with Coach Sylvester, so I could get out of detention, this was a perk of being a Cheerio. I was surprised to see Lexie sitting miserably in the room. I walked over to her.

'So, Lauren told me that she's transferring to McKinley.'

'Yeah I know; she text me a few hours ago.'

Well that's annoying.

'Finn's not going to be happy to find out that you're in detention on your second day.' She looked down.

'I know. My Dad's gonna be so annoyed as well; no doubt Finn will tell him.' Ugh I wish people would stop talking about their parents.

'Whatever. I'll see you later; I'm assuming that you'll be going see Finn after his football practice to get a ride home.'

'Yeah.' She looked down. Even though she annoys me, I think it's sweet that she seems so sad about disappointing her cousin. There's no chance that I would feel that way about Brittany; she's too...dim. I suppose that I could feel that way towards her parents, but I kinda get away with a lot.

'Get on with your work then!' I gave her a mocking smile and then cheerfully walked to the gym.

When we actually got given a break - only after working hard for at least 45mins straight - I went to talk to Finn, the others in the group came to flirt with the football players. 'Hey Sofia, how's it going?'

'Everything's good Finn, but I'm not here to talk about me.'

'Well that's a first.' I frowned at him, and he laughed.

'So, what are you here to talk about?'

'Your cousin. She's got detention with Mrs Hagberg.' His eyes widened

'Really? She told me that she was going to study in the library while I was training.'

'Well she obviously lied to you.'

'Yeah I got that, thanks Sofia. Hey, it's great news about Lauren, right?'

'It's so great; she can officially join New Directions.'

'I know! Do you think she will join the Cheerio's as well?'

'Even if she wants to, I'm not going to let her. You know what Sue's like; she will just make her slip right back into anorexia.'

'Good idea. I'll help with that.'

'Thanks Finn. Her coming here also means that we can keep an eye on her and make sure she eats.'

'Yeah that's good. I better go; Coach Beiste is calling us and coach Sylvester looks like she's about to have a fit so, Good luck with that...'

'Thanks. See you tomorrow.'

All the Cheerio's ran back inside before we were screamed at more than usual.

Lexie's POV

I can't believe I got detention on my second day. I wasn't even that bad. When it was over, I walked out of the room and began to walk around. Finn told me to meet him at the Football field, I have no idea where the football field is, probably should have asked him... Luckily, as I turned a corner, I ran into Tina. I knew it was her, because she was the 'Asian Goth', at least according to Finn anyway. 'Hey, Lexie, are you ok? You look confused.'

'Um, I think I'm lost.'

'Where are you heading?'

'The football field, to meet Finn.'

'I'll walk you there; I'm going there myself to meet Mike.'

'Thanks Tina.' I followed her through the school; I don't know how I got lost, the field is kinda easy to find. I mean it's the big green thing...

We sat down on the bleachers; Tina started to talk to me.

'So, what bought you to Ohio?'

'Um, my Dad got offered a job and because Finn and Carole live here, he accepted it.'

'Oh ok, that's fair enough.'

'Yeah. It's so good being near the Hummel-Hudson's.'

'They are a nice family, you're lucky to be related to them.'

'I know; they're the greatest.' I went quiet as soon as Finn and Mike came over.

'Hey guys; we're just going to get changed.' Mike told us, and Finn just looked at me before they walked off again.

'Let's go; I always meet Mike right outside the changing rooms.'

'Ok, great. Thank you Tina.'

'That's ok Lexie. I'm happy to help'

'Alex, I can't believe you got detention already. How did it happen?' Finn didn't look at me during the agonizing car ride.

'Well, Mrs Hagberg told me off because I didn't do my homework.'

'Even she wouldn't give you detention for that. What else did you do?'

'I kinda started arguing with her about it.' I suppose arguing is just habit.

'Ok; I'm not surprised. I thought you were going to start fresh?' By this point, we had pulled up outside my house.

'I tried.' I started to whine.

'You didn't try hard enough. Go inside, and remember to do your homework.'

'I will do Finn. See you tomorrow.'

'Ok. Tell your dad that we have glee practice tomorrow, so you'll be home later.'

'Ok, bye.' I hugged him before slowly walking inside.

'Hey Lexie, how was your day?' He surprised me with his cheerfulness.

'It was good Daddy. I nearly got lost, but one of the other glee people showed me where to go.'

'Anything bad happen? Any arguments happen? Any detentions?' his eyebrow raised as he said this.

'Well... Not really Daddy. Nearly.' I looked away guiltily.

'That's surprising. Especially as I was called by your homeroom teacher informing me of a detention.'

Crap.

'Oh.' I whispered.

'Alexandra, I am seriously considering giving you a time out like I used to while you were in elementary school.'

'Why Daddy?'

'Because having a phone call home is like getting a red sticker, and that's around the last time you lied to me about getting into trouble at school.'

'I understand.'

'But I'm not going to, because I think you're too old for it. Go and start your homework at the table, and I'll go get you a drink.' I get away with so much nowadays; if my Mom was still here, I guess I wouldn't have.

'Thank you Daddy.' I gave him a hug and then went to sit down.

Sofia's POV

As soon as Brittany had dropped Santana at her house she turned to me. 'Sof, are you ok hun?'

'What do you mean Britt?'

'You've been acting different all day; you've been really quiet. Is anything up?' Even though she's a bit dumb, Brittany can easily tell if something's wrong; she has the biggest heart.

'It's been 2 years. Since my sister...died.' She pulled over and gave me the biggest cuddle.

'Why didn't you say earlier? I'm so sorry Sofia.'

'I miss her so much Brittany.'

'I know you do. Do you want to do something later in remembrance, like light a candle or something?'

'Maybe.'

'We'll think about it when we get home. My mom is cooking tonight so the food should be gooooood, is that the only thing?'

'Kinda. You know Finn's cousin?'

'Lexie? She's cute.'

'I know. But she reminds me of her. I mean, her name's Alexandra; they had the same colour hair and eyes, and she looks young for her age. Also, Lexie's kinda quiet, like Alex was...'

'I see what you mean; is that why you're being kinda mean to her?'

'Yeah, being mean hides the pain. I don't like showing my pain.'

'That's why you seem to have got tougher over the past couple of years.'

'Yeah, I suppose. Thanks Britt.'

'Anytime hun.'

Brittany and I had the best night yesterday. She made me laugh feeling like it was the first time in ages. I didn't even feel sad, considering that it was exactly 2 years ago... And just to make me feel even better, I got a text from Lauren saying she was excited to be coming to my school and was joining my homeroom class. Even the teachers seemed to like me today; that was a first.

Over lunch I sat with the glee club guys for once, rather than the rest of the Cheerio's. I didn't really want Lauren anywhere near them, you know, in case of a relapse.

'Sofia, do you think I would get into the Cheerio's?' Lauren suddenly turned to me while nibbling an apple, making me jump a little.

'You're not joining Lauren. Not yet anyway.'

'Why not; am I not good enough?' she joked.

'You are the best. I'd just rather you didn't join the Cheerio's. Coach Sylvester makes sure that we only eat certain foods, and we cannot put on any weight whatsoever. That's what you really need. To put on weight; not lose it...again, you're not risking going under her power.' I didn't want to lecture her, but I had to, unfortunately.

'Oh... ok. Thanks for the warning Sofia.' At least she's taking some responsibility.

'Hey, you're my best friend; I don't want you going back to the clinic again.'

'Thanks Sofia. You're a great best friend.' She hugged me, beginning to take bigger bites of her apple.

During our conversation I watched Lexie. She was really quiet, especially while everyone else was constantly questioning her; she tended to give one word answers and if the question required more, she would glance at Finn who would either elaborate, or give her an encouraging look. It was generally the former. It was kinda cute, kinda annoying. Even though it's annoying, I'm not going to let what happened to my sister happen to her. It can't happen twice. No, I'm gonna watch out for her; not openly, but I'm still going to be careful and watch her. I know that she has Finn but, I know from experience, it's those closest to the person who misses that something is wrong.

After math I walked with Lauren and Rory to Glee. As we got there, Lexie was acting really hyper while everyone was laughing at her. Lauren hugged her from behind, and she turned around, and hugged her back. 'Hey Lauren!' She then looked at me and Rory, and gave us a nervous smile. 'Hi guys.'

'Hello Lexie.' Rory gave her that 'friend' smile. Not him too!

'Hi.' I looked at my phone, pretending to be grumpy. I'm happy with my two best friends, I don't need another and I especially don't need a constant reminder of my twin. Mr Shue suddenly stood up.

'Right guys, let's get this meeting started!'

'So, what's the special assignment you were talking about Mr Schuester?' Rachel perked up looking smug, as always.

'Well, seeing as we have a new member, I thought that we could instil our values into her. So, I want you all to pair up and sing a song that encourages somebody to be themselves.'

That doesn't sound too hard.

'Everybody choose a partner.'

Lexie turned around. 'Can I work with you Lauren?' Her voice went really small, and she sounded kinda scared and shy.

'Is that ok with you?' Lauren asked me.

'Yeah, that's fine, I'll go with Rory.'

'Yep. Let's decide on a song.' Lexie jumped up and down excitedly at Lauren's agreement.

'Yay! Thank you Lauren.' She hugged her again, Lauren hugged her back protectively.

When everyone had got their music ready Mr Shue stood in front of us again. Before he could sort out who gets to practise in the club room, and when, Lexie's phone started ringing. Nobody would have known, but she turned to Finn looking worried. 'Finn, it's my dad.'

'Go answer it. He wouldn't call you unless it was important; he knows we're here.'

'I know. I'll just be outside.' As she walked out we all went silent hoping nothing bad had happened...

Lexie's POV

I leant against the wall outside glee, sliding down to the floor as I answered my cell.

'Hey Daddy, is everything ok?'

'Alex, I shouldn't really be telling you this over the phone baby, but you need to know, I needed to tell you now.'

'What's wrong Daddy? Please, just tell me, whatever it is... I can take it...'

'Lexie...I...I've got cancer.'

'Cancer? Please, tell me you're joking... Oh God... this can't be happening!'

I stood up and began to shout down the phone.

'Sorry baby, I can't tell you that. It's the truth. I'm going to be staying at the hospital for a couple of nights; you will have to stay at Carole's. She's going to bring you here to visit every day after school.'

'Daddy, I don't want you to stay there! Please come home!'

'Baby, I can't. You know that.'

'Ok, I-I have to go now.'

'Ok Lexie, see you later.'

'O-ok Daddy, bye.'

I quickly called off as I began to cry. This can't be happening...

Sofia's POV

As soon as we heard Lexie say about cancer, we all gasped. As she heard the gasp she ran down the corridor, nobody seemed to want to go follow her. I just stood up and ran until I found her; I know I would want someone to follow.

She was sitting on a bench outside.

'You ok?'

'Kinda.'

'Come inside, its freezing.'

'No, its ok, I'm not cold.'

'Of course you are; it's the middle of January. At least come inside, we don't have to go back yet.' I took her hand when she stood up. We walked into the reception area, after a few minutes she began to open up to me.

'I don't want my Dad to die... That would make it both of my parents...'

'What happened to your Mom?' I asked gently, and took her hand into mine.

'When I was in kindergarten, she was in a car accident. It's going to be nine years on Friday.' She wiped a tear from her cheek. I understand why.

'It hurts losing somebody.'

'You don't know what that feels like!' She raised her voice, and then turned away.

'Actually... I do.' She looked at me, surprised, as a tear ran down _my _cheek.

'Tell me.' She whispered in-between sobs.

'Two years ago my twin sister committed suicide, yesterday was the anniversary. My parents thought that it was my fault that she was getting bullied, because I was popular, and she wasn't. They sent me to live with Brittany and her parents.'

'Ohhh...That's terrible! What was she like... your sister?'

'She was my best friend. We done everything together until secondary school, and then we grew apart. We were still close, but I chose cheerleading over reading. Because of that, I had way more friends than her, and was more popular. She was really quiet, and didn't speak much in school. She looked younger than me, which was strange. Her name was Alexandra, like yours.' Lexie hugged me, which made me feel better instantly. 'Anyway, I think we better be getting back. But don't let anyone hear of this conversation, ok?'

'What conversation?' She laughed, and I hugged her back as we made our way to back to glee.


	4. Chapter 4

Lexie's POV

Back in Glee I was about to sit down when...

'Lexie, my mom just text me to say that she's on her way with Burt. They're going to take you to the hospital.' Finn stood and hugged me while giving me my backpack.

'Ok, thank you Finny. See you later.'

I walked slowly back to the reception area and waited outside. Sofia was right; it is freezing outside. I put my gloves on and walked to the bench where I was sitting before. Carole and Burt came quickly, thankfully, and I jumped into the car.

'How are you doing Lexie?' Carole turned to me.

'Ok, I suppose. Umm... Auntie Carole?'

'Yes sweetie?' She frowned.

What...What kind of...cancer does my Dad have?'

'Do you really want to know?'I nodded.

'Lung cancer.'

Oh God. That's like the worst type, I wish I hadn't asked now. I rested my head on the window trying to stop the tears.

Lauren's POV

I was in Finn's car on the way to Dalton when I got a text from Lexie.

'_Lauren, I'm scared :/'_

'_What's wrong Lexie? x'_

'_What if my Dad looks...weird?'_

'_He's still your Dad. Don't be scared.'_

'_Um, ok Lauren, I'll try...'_

'_Call me later, good luck I'm sure everything will be fine.'_

'_Ok, thank you Lauren. You're a great friend '_

'_;)'_

I feel so sorry for Lexie. Hopefully Tom gets better... it's always the best people who get sick. I don't want to, but sometimes I think we would be better off without Dad, it's terrible but sometimes I think my Dad should be ill and die, maybe then Blaine could be happier...Our lives would be so much better then.

When we got to Dalton, Blaine went to spin me around like usual. I didn't let him.

'Laur, are you ok? What's wrong?' he sounded really worried, I hate it when he's worried.

'Blainey...it's Tom, he...he has cancer...' I couldn't look at him when I said this from fear of crying...

'Tom... Lexie's dad!' I nodded still not able to look at him.

'Is Lexie ok? Where is she?' He noticed for the first time that she wasn't with us. Kurt just looked really worried.

'She's just shocked. My mom and Burt picked her up from school to go see him.' Finn explained saving me from having to speak again.

'I hope he gets better, for Lexie's sake.' Blaine shook his head while hugging me.

'I think he will pull through.' Kurt, ever the optimist, stated. His face showed that he was only hoping, and not really believing, that Tom would be ok.

Lexie's POV

I was so nervous to go see my Dad. Carole sensed this, and even Burt did. When we got out of the car Carole held my hand, as if I was 5 again. I wish I was...

We walked in through the main doors and found out where to go. The nurse who directed us looked at me, giving me a sympathetic smile. I felt sick. I suddenly didn't want to go see my Dad. I tried to run away from Carole, but Burt stopped me.

'Are you ok Lexie?'

'I don't wanna see my Dad... I'm scared! What if he dies?' I began to cry, and Burt just hugged me.

'Lexie, your Dad wants to see you. Imagine how upset he would be if you didn't see him.'

'Ok, I'll go.' I didn't want to, but I had to, for my Dad.

When we got to his room, I slowly made my way in after Carole and Burt. He immediately smiled when he saw me.

'Lexie!'

'Hey Daddy.' He was sitting on his bed, hooked up to some machines. I sat next to him, and he put his arms around me. 'I love you Daddy. I don't want you to die.'

'Hopefully I won't have to baby.' I kissed him on the cheek.

Sofia's POV

This situation with Lexie and her dad makes me miss my parents so much. I did before, obviously, but I resented them too much for sending me to America with Brittany. I'm kinda lucky that Santana was coming around to hang with Brittany tonight, because I could sit in the back of her car and think while they were talking on the way home. I sat there and thought of my parents; suddenly, I began to pine for them. I nearly started crying. If only they wanted me as much as I needed them right now. I began to remember something about when I was packing to come here...

I was looking under my bed, hoping not to find anything too gross or dusty under there. As I stood up again, I noticed something poking out from under my pillow. I took it out, and it was a letter in an envelope. It was addressed to me, in Alexandra's handwriting.

I haven't read the letter yet. Every time I thought of my twin, my heart broke, and then I just couldn't do it. I know where it is, it's where it's always been since I got here. I'm going to open it when I get home, yes I am, defiantly... and then write a letter to my parents even though they probably don't care. At least I'll be left alone. When we got back I walked and found Brittany's Mom. 'Aunt Hillary, can I ask you something?'

'Of course you can Sofia. What is it?'

'Um, how much does it cost to send a letter to the UK?' She paused.

'About 2 dollars, I think, depends on size. What's up?'

'I think I want to get in touch with my parents.'

'Good for you honey. When you're ready, I'll post it for you if you like.'

'Thank you Aunt Hillary.'

'I'll be up soon to give you a snack for when you do your homework.'

'Ok, thank you.' I hugged her once before I walked up the stairs and changed out of my Cheerio's uniform.

I got my desk chair, and put it against my wardrobe. I carefully climbed up, and reached for a shoe box that I put there when I first came to America. It contained a lot of photos and things that I could just about get from my room before I was kicked out of the house. I quietly jumped off the chair and sat on my bed to open the box. The letter was on top exactly where I left it. I felt my heart beat quicken as I slowly picked it up at the edges. I then turned it over and gently lifted the sticky flap and closed it again. I don't want to read it. No, I do, I have to... I took the letter out; my hands were shaking as I began to read.

_To my beautiful twin sister Sofia_

_I am so sorry about what I am going to do to myself._

_Just remember that it was never your fault, no matter what people tell you._

_You were always the popular twin. Even in primary school, when we were constantly together, it seemed like everyone preferred you to me. We were best friends, even when we argued, but nothing could tear us apart._

_It changed in secondary school. We were still close, and we could talk about everything; but we grew apart. You were the star netball player in school, and an amazing cheerleader, while I was in the library studying. _

_You found out I was being bullied, and you got into trouble for me, trying to protect me; your popularity grew – mine did for a while. You didn't know this, but the bullying started again. If you did know, the people I was being bullied by wouldn't have listened to you. Over time, it got worse and worse. I couldn't tell you... I didn't want to ruin your perfect world, even though I knew you would have cared._

_Mum and Dad didn't know either. Don't let them blame you. Don't let them think that you are me. Be yourself Sofia. Don't spend your days crying over me; live your life._

_I love you .Forever and always..._

_Your dearest sister, Alexandra xx_

Oh her handwriting! I missed it so much...I read the letter over and over, and then realized I was crying. I put the letter in the top drawer of my bedside table as Aunt Hillary came in with a glass of milk, and a plate of cookies. That's what I get every day, and I love it. I don't think Ms Sylvester would be too happy if she found out, but oh well. 'Make sure you do your homework before anything else, ok Sofia?'

'I will do Aunt Hillary.'

'I've got a meeting at school tomorrow with the principal, Mr Schuester, and your cheerleading coach about your behaviour. And not doing your homework.' Damn. 'You better do it.'

'Ok Aunt Hillary, I will do.'

'Ok. I'll be up to check on your progress in half an hour.' I nodded, and grabbed my bag as she walked out of the room.

Luckily I don't have that much to do: 20 math exercises; a creative writing task; and some Spanish sentences to translate. That won't take too long. Hopefully...

I opened my math book and started on the exercises. They were so easy, I finished them within 10 minutes. I then got out some paper, and wrote 3 full pages for English. It was just a stupid little story about a ten year old. I must say, it is good though. As I finished the last few sentences, Aunt Hillary came into the room. 'I know I said half an hour, but it's been about 40 minutes. How's your homework going?'

'It's good. I've just finished my English work, and I've already done my math. Now there's just Spanish to do.'

'Good girl; if you need any help, you can go ask Santana if you want.'

'I know. Thank you Aunt Hillary.' She hugged me before walking out with the empty glass and plate.


	5. Chapter 5

Lauren's POV

I was finishing up my homework when my cell phone rang.

'Hello?'

'Hey Lauren.' It was Lexie.

'Lexie! How was your time at the hospital?'

'It was ok.'

'Did he look weird?' I tried to sound gentle, knowing how delicate the subject was.

'No... He was sitting in bed hooked up to some machines. I mean... he seemed pretty normal.'

She seemed ok, good.

'That's good, I'm glad he seems ok. How are you feeling?'

'Ok. Well... better than before. I'm staying in the spare room at Finn's house.'

'Ahh...cool, I think being with Finn is good.'

'Um, Lauren, can...can I... ask you something?' She sounded unsure.

'Of course Lexie. What's up?'

'Would you come to the hospital with me tomorrow?'

'Am I allowed to?'

'Um...I don't know, I didn't think to ask...'

'Well... There just gonna have to let me in aren't they?'

'Hahaha thanks Lauren. You somehow always make me smile'

'Anytime. I'll speak to you later.' I'd just hung up the phone when...

'OH MY GOD DAD. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? I'M AN FREAKING A GRADE STUDENT!'

Great he's swearing.

I slowly opened my door; I could just about see into Blaine's room. I could see my dad's back and some of Blaine's face, he looked so sad...God I wish I could help. Luckily, there were no punches or slaps. Yet. I ran into my parents' room to find my Mom. She was lying in bed, trying to block out the arguing outside. I shut the door as quietly as possible and climbed in the bed, under the quilt, and cuddled up with her. Blaine and I used to do that a lot as kids, before Blaine came out to them. Sometimes, if I'm sad or had a bad day me and Blaine still do that, but it's not the same without Mum...

'Why do they have argue? I HATE it.'

'I don't know Laurie. We just have to ride it out again.' She squeezed me tighter.

'Why are they even arguing? Blaine's grades are AMAZING. I wish my grades were as good, it should be me he's shouting at. My grades are terrible compared to Blaine's.'

'I don't know, I don't know why; Blaine's grades ARE nearly perfect, but yours are good to and you know that.'

'Yes Mom, I guess so...' I decided not to argue, there's enough of that in this house already.

'How was your first official day at McKinley?' She knew about me going just for glee, and I think she was quite happy about it. I guess because it made me smile.

'It was really good, Finn's cousin found out that her dad got cancer though.'

'Oh no, that's sad. Is she ok?'

'She seems to be. She asked if I could go to the hospital tomorrow with her. Can I go?'

'Of course you can Lauren! It's good that...' Suddenly we heard a slap. Then a bang, sounds like Blaine was pushed against the wall. Mom hugged me tighter, but I pushed her away. I can't take this anymore.

'Mom why don't you stop him?' I started shouting as the violence continued. Tears ran down my face.

'I want to Laurie. I really do.'

'Then why don't you.' We stayed, staring at each other for a minute. We both jumped out of the bed when we heard Dad's footsteps come towards the room.

'Do it now Mom.' I encouraged her just as Dad burst in.

'Darling, go and make dinner. Now.' He ordered her, before turning to me. 'Lauren, go to your room. And that's your room, not Blaine's. Ok?'

'Mom? Why are you just sitting there, Do something!'

'Lauren, do as your father said.' She looked down in shame.

'Mom! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? HOW CAN YOU JUST SIT THERE AND LET THIS HAPPEN? YOU'RE SUCH A... A COWARD! Aggghhh!' I began to storm out of the room; my Dad grabbed my arm, and pulled me back.

'Don't you EVER speak to your mother like that!' I turned and looked at him. I must have looked scared because he immediately let go, not wanting to hurt me. I started to cry, I had to get out, get some air before my anger got out of control. So I ran out of the house and in a random direction, not knowing where the hell I was heading.

Sofia's POV

After starting the letter to my parents, Brittany came into my room. 'Soooo, me and Santana are going to walk Lord Tubbington; do you wanna come?' She loves that cat way too much... poor cat...

'Yeah, sounds good. When are we going?'

'Well, I've just got to put his leash on, and then we can go.'

'Cool. Let me just put some shoes on and I'll be down.'

'We'll be waiting.' She smiled before heading down stairs.

'Right, I'm ready!' I jumped down the stairs.

'Awesome. Let's go!' Santana grinned.

'Be back for dinner! It will be about half an hour.' Aunt Hillary hugged me before we headed out the door.

'That's half the circle!' Brittany chirped as she waved goodbye. 'Come on Lord Tubbington!' Even though I've lived here for like 3 years, I am still not used to the cat, or at least how un-catlike he is. As we left the house we all started to jog around the block. I stopped as I saw Lauren. She was running away from her house with tears streaming down her face. We stared at her.

'Do you have your phone?' Santana asked.

I nodded. 'Go run after her.'

'Ok, I'll see you guy's later.'

I started to run faster, trying to catch up. 'Hey Lauren! Wait up!'

'Leave me alone!' She started to run faster; I don't think she knew it was me. She's never liked it when people try to help her. I lost track of her as she ran around the corner, I decided to ring her.

'LEAVE ME ALONE'

'Lauren, that person calling you was me.' I heard her start to cry even more.

'Stay where you are; I'll find you.' I jogged in the vague direction she had run in.

'Sofia! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you!'

'I could tell. What's happened? Were they fighting again?' I wrapped my arms around her as she started to cry again. We sat down on a nearby bench.

'Dad hit Blaine again and pushed him against the wall. I got angry and shouted at my Mom, I told her to tell my Dad to stop. But she didn't, when my Dad came in, she wouldn't, she would stand up to him. I tried to walk out but Dad started to shout at me and he...he grabbed my arm.'

'Ohh no, That's bad. He...he didn't...hurt you did he?'

'No...not really. He let go before he done any real damage... But it really scared me! He hasn't done anything like that to me in a long time'

Her eyes widened. 'Oh my gosh! Blaine...I need to go see Blaine. I normally always see if he's ok after an argument.'

'Would you like me to walk you home?'

'No, it's ok. I need some time to cool off on my own, besides I don't need to drag you into this. I probably gonna be in a lot of trouble for running off. Thank you Sofia.' She hugged me again, before walking away.

My phone started ringing as she walked away.

'Hey Britt'

'Hey, where are you? The big line is nearly half way round on my watch' How I love Brittany sometimes...

'I'm just outside the convenience store, where the benches are.'

'Ok, awesome. We will meet you there.'

'Ok Brittany, see you soon.'

Lexie's POV

'Auntie Carole, can Lauren come to the hospital tomorrow?' I sat on the arm chair in their living room, and crossed my legs after dinner.

'I don't see why not. Ask your Dad when he calls before bedtime.'

I felt myself go red. He makes me go to bed kinda early, and he is really strict about it.

'Ok, I will do.'

'Here have some popcorn.' Finn gave me a bowl before he put a movie on. Apparently Wednesday was their family film night. I didn't mind though, I love a good movie. We were going to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That is such a great film.

'Thank you. Finny' I snuggled up next to him

'You welcome.' He wrapped his arm around me.

A few minutes after the movie finished, the house phone rang, Burt answered it.

'It's your Dad.' I took the phone to the top of the stairs to talk to him.

'Hello Daddy.'

'Hey baby. How are you?'

'I'm good. Um, Daddy...can Lauren come with me to the hospital tomorrow please?'

'I don't see why not. I like Lauren, shame about her dad though. What did you do tonight?'

'Yeahh...Well I done my homework, and ate dinner, watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You know normal stuff.'

'Good, Well done for doing your homework. Now, after you get off the phone, make sure you get straight to bed.'

'Do I have to Daddy? It's like 8:30' I whined.

'Alex, it's your bedtime.'

'I know Daddy but it's not fair, I'm not 5 anymore!'

'Alexandra, you say that every night, and every night you go to bed when I say. You need to stop arguing. When you stop arguing, maybe we can discuss you going to bed a little later.'

'Ok Daddy.' I pouted.

'You better not be pouting Alex.' How does he always know?

'I'm not Daddy.'

'I'm going to trust you, even though I don't particularly believe you. Anyway, you better be going. Goodnight baby girl.'

'Night night Daddy. Love you.'

'Love you too baby. See you tomorrow.' He hung up, and I slowly made my way downstairs. Hopefully no one heard my whining. That would have been embarrassing.

'Lexie, go and get ready for bed.' Carole smiled at me.

'Um, I need to text Lauren to tell her that she can come tomorrow.'

'I'll do that. You need to get to bed.' Finn shouted from the kitchen. Ugh 'stern Finn' is so annoying.

'Thank you Finn. Go, Lexie, I'll be up in a bit, I want to talk to you.' Carole pointed to the stairs.

'Ok, night guys.' I half-waved at Burt and Kurt, and Finn hugged me before I walked up. It's going to be strange staying here for the next few nights. I ran up to 'my' room, and began to get ready.

When I got back from the bathroom Carole was sitting on the desk chair waiting for me. 'Lexie, sit on your bed.'

'Um, what's up Auntie Carole?' I bit my lip as I complied.

'I just want to talk to you. Sweetie, how do you feel about your Dad having cancer?'

'I don't know really. I'm scared that he's going to die, and I don't want him to be in pain. Do you think he's gonna die Auntie Carole?' Tears started forming in her eyes, which made them form in mine too.

'I hope not sweetie. But we never know.'

'I don't want him to! I need him!'

'I know you do honey. We need to think positive, that should help.'

'Are you sure?' I frowned, doubtfully. I don't think that'll make much difference.

'We have to be Lexie, just to keep everyone's spirits up.'

'Ok, I'll try.'

'Good girl. Now, sweetie, get into bed.' I climbed under the covers, and she tucked me in, kissed my forehead and quietly walked out of the room. It's the first time a woman has done that to me in nearly 9 years. I curled up into a ball and started to cry.

Lauren's POV

I got home at about 9pm. I could see my Dad sleeping in the chair by the door, he was waiting for me. Thank god he fell asleep. I crept past him as quietly as I could, hoping he wouldn't wake up and left my bag on the table next to him so he would know I was home, I really didn't want to speak to him right now. I ran up stairs to Blaine's room.

'Hey, Blainers' He was sitting on his bed with an ice pack on his eye.

'Ohh... Hey Laur. Where did you go? I was worried'

'I... I had to get out for a bit. I yelled at Mom and Dad grabbed my arm. It pushed me over the edge. I had to leave...' I looked up to find Blaine frozen, his eyes locked on me. He started crush the ice pack in his hand. I put my hand on his cheek wiping away a drip from the ice pack. 'He didn't hurt me, he let go before...'

I began to choke up remembering the look on his face. Blaine wrapped his arm around me, and his classic 'I know what will make this better' smile crept onto his face.

'Disney?' I nodded and he stood up and put on Beauty and the Beast. This was always my favourite movie; I cuddled up to Blaine as the opening song began. I must have been exhausted because the next thing I knew it was morning.

Over breakfast, it was really frosty. Dad and Blaine weren't talking; they don't generally right after an argument, sometimes I think it's because Dad is kinda guilty about hurting him, but then he goes and does it again anyway... It didn't help that I shouted at Mom last night. I apologized when I saw her this morning, but it didn't help communication in the house. I decided to try break the ice a little.

'Um, Dad I'm going to be home a little late tonight.'

'Uhuh...Where are you going, have you asked where you can be?'

'Yeah, Mom said I can go. I'm going to the hospital with my friend, her Dad has cancer.'

'Ohh...Ok. Call me when you're ready to be picked up.'

'Actually, she's staying with her aunt, so her cousin can drop me off. He goes to McKinley.'

'Um, Dad, can I go with Lauren please? Kurt, the new kid at Dalton is the step brother of the guy who will drop her off. I think it will make sense.' We all looked over; Blaine spoke while looking at his plate.

'Seeing as you asked nicely, then yes you can.' Dad smiled at Blaine, he NEVER smiles at Blaine.

A few minutes later, just as we were all finishing eating, Dad started asking about Lexie. 'Lauren, you said that your friend is staying with her aunt and cousins while her Dad's in hospital. What about her Mom?'

'Her Mom was in a fatal car accident when she was in Kindergarten.'

'Oh that's sad. Send her my wishes.' He actually looked really concerned.

'Of course Dad. Anyway, I better get dressed.' I stood up and went to have a shower.

About an hour later Finn came to pick Blaine and me up for school. I climbed in the back seat, next to Lexie, before Blaine did. Lexie seemed strange. Not like she was sad because of her Dad, but kind of annoyed.

'Um, Lexie, are you ok?' She stiffly nodded, staring out the window.

'What's wrong?' This time she just shrugged.

'What's up with Lexie?'

'Alex is annoyed because we were rushing her so we had time to pick up both of you.' Kurt explained.

'So in other words, she's acting like a 5 year old and sulking.' Finn continued. Lexie went red, I couldn't help but smile a little.

'But yo-'

'Don't try and deny it Alex.' Finn cut her off. She just pouted. This made me smile even more.

After a while, Lexie fell asleep leaning on my arm. I tried to get her off, but all it did was make Blaine laugh. This in turn made me laugh.

'Um... Finn, Lexie has um...just fallen asleep on my arm.' I said between laughing.

'That's fine. Mom said she might be tired; she said that's why she was arguing.'

'Why would she be tired? Did she stay up late last night?'

'No, not really. She has a strict bedtime; it's just the stress of what's going on. Carole thinks that she may have been awake for a while.' Kurt suggested.

'How was she last night?' Blaine asked, having recovered from his laughing fit.

'She was ok. We're going to try and be positive for her; I know Tom will be. I don't think he would want to leave her alone.'

Finn woke Lexie up as soon as we arrived at school. She looked bewildered for a while, and then went red when she realized the situation. My arm soon recovered. I walked off, and then went to find Sofia.

Lexie's POV

After Lauren left us, I turned to Finn, and half-looked at him. It was awkwardly silent for a minute. 'Erm, I'm sorry about earlier Finn.' I looked at my hands for a while.

'Lexie, look at me.' I slowly looked up. 'I know you're upset about your Dad, but you can't take it out on your family and you can't keep acting like a kid. We love you Lexie.'

'I know Finn. I'm really really sorry!' I hugged him tightly, and he squeezed me back. 'I love you all too.' He smiled, and then took my hand.

'Let's go in. Remember, Puck's been suspended from the football team for a couple of weeks, so he's going to take you and Lauren to the Lima Bean to meet Kurt and Blaine.'

'That's the coffee shop with the awesome hot chocolate, isn't it?' He laughed for a bit.

'Yeah, it is. Here's some money, just in case. Kurt would pay for you, but it's on me' He gave me a $5 bill.

'Thank you Finny.' By that time, we had reached our lockers, so I began to get my things out that I needed.

'What do you have after homeroom?'

'Um, I have Spanish, which means I don't have to move classrooms.'

'Ahhh good. Have you got your homework?' I nodded and smiled.

'Good. I'll walk you there.'

We got to Mr Schuester's classroom kinda early, and he was already there.

'Hi Mr Schuester.' I walked in and spoke quietly. He looked up.

'Hey Lexie. I need to talk to you.' He looked at Finn. 'Do you mind Finn?'

'No, of course. See you later Lexie.' He grinned at me before turning and walking out. Rachel happened to come around the corner at that moment. I don't think she likes me.

'Sit down Lexie.' Mr Schue sat on a chair in front of my desk. 'How was your Dad?'

'He's ok. He was normal, just being monitored. I think he will come out tomorrow.'

'That's great! If you need to rant or talk about anything, Miss Pillsbury or I will be happy to see you.'

'Ok, thank you Mr Schuester.'

'How are you enjoying your first week here? Have you got any friends?'

'The other Glee members are sorta my friends. Lauren is my only proper friend though.'

'Well once you've been here for longer, people will get used to you and be friendlier.'

'Yeah, I suppose.'

People started to come into homeroom then, but there was quite a few people missing.

'Hey guys!' He stood up and started to go the front. 'Where is everyone?' He paused. 'Oh the Cheerio's have their Thursday meeting! I keep forgetting about that.'


	6. Chapter 6

Santana's POV

I am so not in the mood for this weigh-in. I just feel so lazy and tired today. Luckily I was first, and I had lost a lb! Considering I had put on half a one last time, I was feeling pretty awesome. Although, Coach Sylvester commented on my 'bad posture'. Whatever. Sofia put on a pound. Let's just say that Coach looked like she wanted to slap the girl.

When everyone had gone to homeroom, I decided to hang back and talk to Coach. Seeing as I'm co-head cheerleader, I think it's my duty to tell her what I think about Sofia and her certain eating habits. I sat opposite her. Brittany wasn't in there, which was good, as it would have made it a whole lot more awkward. Anyway, it's in Sofia's best interests, she should thank me.

'What did you want Santana?'

'I want to talk to you about Sofia.'

'Ahh. Do you know why she gained?'

'I have an idea. Every day, Hillary – Brittany's mom – gives her some cookies and a glass of milk. Brittany stopped eating them a few months ago, but Sofia still eats them.' She thought for a while.

'Thank you for telling me Santana, you done the right thing. I'll have to talk to her.'

'Oh, and coach, can you not tell her or Brittany that it was me that told you please?'

'I think that's reward enough for telling me the truth.' She gave me a 'Sue smile'... which is just like a really small, subtle smile.

Sofia's POV

Rory and I have recess as our first rehearsal time. I was there a few minutes before him. I set my bag down and walked onto the stage. As soon as he walked in, my stomach flipped. That's never happened before. I mean I've always felt something, since the first time I saw him, but never like this. When he came towards me, I thought he looked really cute. Beautiful even. The music started and he began to sing. I couldn't bring myself to sing my part.

'Sofia, are you ok?' He spoke in his smooth Irish accent that I love so much.

'I…I don't know.' I turned away from him. 'Rory, you're my best friend you know that. But...'

'But what?' He gently turned me around by my shoulders, brushing some hair from my face.

'I…I think I might love you Rory Flanagan.' His cheeks went pink.

'Thank God! I think I love you too. I didn't want to say anything in case it ruined our friendship. I mean, you're a friend...' He suddenly stopped.

'Sofia Pierce-Smith. I know this is sudden but…Will you be my girlfriend?'

'Ohh Rory...I…I don't know. It's gone really quickly. I can't. No, I will. Yes I'll be your girlfriend.'

'Oh Sofia thank you!' A massive smile appeared on his face and then he kissed me.

Wow…That kiss was...amazing…His lips were so soft and perfect. It was…It just felt so right, like I've been waiting for this moment since we've met.

'We can't tell Lauren; not yet, anyway.' We sat next to each other near the piano.

'Why not?'

'It'll be unfair to her; she'll feel left out and awkward. Let's just get used to this ourselves first.'

'Oh Sofia, that's such a good idea!' He grinned, but then suddenly he went white. I followed his gaze to the door, where Coach Sylvester was standing. Well I'm guessing it's not Rory she is here for…

'Sofia Pierce-Smith, I am furious at you! I happen to know that you have gym right now, so get changed and meet me in my office. NOW.' She stormed in as she lectured before going out again. Shit, what did I do now?

'I better go to hell. See you in Spanish.'

'Good luck Sofia.' He kissed me on the cheek as I stood up, my stomach flipped again. I quickly jogged to the changing rooms before facing the beast.

'Sofia Sofia Sofia.' She looked down on me and shook her head. 'You put on a pound this morning! I wouldn't have cared if you stayed the same, and you know that. I heard a rumor that you like to eat a certain, rather unhealthy snack when you get home from school. Care to tell me what it is?'

'Um, I have some cookies…' I couldn't lie to her.

'Yes, you do. Imagine all that fat and sugar building up over a week, a month, a year. If you keep this up you won't fit through the door and I'll have to forklift you out.' She narrowed her eyes as she sat down. 'I want you to lose 2 pound by next weigh in.'

'Wha-' She held her hand up to stop me talking.

'Start now. With 20 pushups. Go!' She pointed in front of her desk. Here we go. These are times I wish I wasn't a Cheerio.

Lauren's POV

Lexie and I have a joint free period, and the choir room was free, so we decided to practice our song.

'Lex, are you sure you want to sing still? Are you up to it? You know after everything…'

'I think so. I would like to practice anyway.' She smiled. But it seemed like a forced smile.

'Great. You got your words?'

'I don't need them.' She smiled properly this time.

I let her choose what we're going to sing, 'Who Says' by Selena Gomez, which I kinda wasn't surprised about. It's a good song anyway, so I don't mind. Could have been worse…

That song…. I wish my dad had that kinda mind frame with Blaine, no matter what he is, gay or not, he is perfect. He is my brother and he means the world to me. I just want my dad to stop hurting him. If he would come to sectionals on Saturday, he would realize how amazing Blaine is. But he's not. The only reason that he let Blaine go was because it's a school event. But I'm going to support Blaine, I'm gonna get a seat right in the center and cheer as loud as I can. Burt and Carole are going to watch Kurt and they are going to drop me of at Sofia's house after too. It should be a great day.

After, I walked Lex to Math I headed to Spanish. Sofia was acting so weird… Almost like she was in love. Rory looked strangely happy too. Have I missed something? When I gave in my homework – Mr Schue is the only teacher I'm doing it for, I respect him – he asked to see me after class. I really hope I'm not in trouble.

'Lauren, are you ready?' Sofia turned to me, ready to leave.

'Mr Schuester wants to talk to me.'

'Ok. I'll meet you in the canteen.' She seems so distant. I swear a week ago she would have waited outside the room for me.

'Um, what did you want to talk about Mr Schue?' I stood in front of his desk.

'Sit down Lauren.' I moved back a little so I could slide on to a desk.

'I was talking to Lexie this morning. She told me that the only friend she has at the moment is you. Is that true?'

'I think so. She's so sweet, but… distant sometimes' He smiled.

'You only met her on Monday, and you seem to be very close to her already; have you been with her out of school?' He seemed genuinely concerned about her.

'Well Kurt is my brother's boyfriend, so we've met.'

'You're Blaine's sister! You have the same eyes; I thought I recognized them! The deep brown…Beautiful' That was slightly creepy.

'Urm.. Thanks.' I love having his eyes, my brother's the best.'

'Anyway, if you think that Lexie is acting differently, or is upset, can you please encourage her to talk to Miss Pillsbury? I think it would be very good for her.'

'I agree. Of course she need's to talk to someone…other than me.'

'Thank you Lauren. How do you know Sofia?'

'Um… 3 years ago – when I was 12 - I had to go to counseling for… some different things. While I was there, the therapist decided to do a 'meet people' weekend thing. That's where I met her, and we've been friends ever since. We've helped each other through a lot.'

'I can imagine. Considering where you met, if you need to talk to Miss Pillsbury, then go ahead as well.'

'Thanks Mr. Schue… I better go…' He nodded, and I walked out of the room. Luckily he didn't ask why I needed counseling… That could have been awkward.

Lexie's POV

I put my things in my locker, and then got out my lunch before slamming the door. As I turned to walk down the corridor, I felt something cold hit me. Hard. It went all over my face and shoulders. A Slushie. I stopped, stunned and cold.

'Lexie, are you ok?' I must have looked really confused and scared.

'Don't worry, it's Quinn. I'll clean you up.' She took my hand, and led me to the bathroom.

'W-what happened?' I whispered while she started to run water through my hair.

'You were slushied… That happens a lot to glee members.'

'It was cold.'

'The first one is the worst. But it's ok, you get used to them.' She smiled sympathetically.

After a couple of minutes, when Quinn had nearly finished washing the red stuff out my hair, Sofia came into the bathroom.

'Hey Quinn.'

'Hi Sofia.' Quinn didn't even look up…

'Hi Sofia!' I looked at her.

'Whatever.'

'Be nice Sofia.' Quinn finally looked up. 'What did you want?' She snapped unhappily.

'Um, ya know last year, when I first joined Glee, and Mr Schue done that duets competition…?'

'Yeah, I sang 'Lucky' with Sam.'

'Well… I was wondering… Can Rory and I sing the same song please? The lyrics are kind of…appropriate…' Quinn smiled as if she realized something.

'Oh my gosh you're in love with Rory! That is so cute; I'm so happy for you! Of course you can sing the song… But check Sam too, just in case.'

'Rory's on that. But can you please not tell anyone? We're keeping it on the down low until we sing it.' She glanced at me. 'You too, kid. Don't tell anyone; especially not Lauren.' I quickly nodded, and she narrowed her eyes a little before walking off.

'Don't worry about her. She's just jealous.'

'Of what?' I frowned.

'Of you getting all the attention because you are the youngest. It'll pass.' She laughed.

'Oh, ok.' She helped me stand up. 'Thanks for helping me Quinn.'

'That's ok Lexie. Here, let me fix your hair?'

I stood in front of the mirror and started to gather up my hair.

When she finished, we walked to the lunchroom together, and took seats at the end of the 'glee table' as we call it. Brittany and Santana came and sat next to us.

'Hey guys.' Quinn smirked at them, and I just smiled.

'Hi Quinn, Hi Lexie.' Santana picked up her carton of drink.

'Lexie, can I ask you something please?' Brittany turned to me after Santana and her nodded at each other.

'Um, ok…'

'Do you know about my web show?'

'Yeah, Kurt showed it to me a few weeks ago. The opening song is really cool.'

'Haha thanks Lexie!' She giggled. 'Anyway, I don't know if Kurt told you, but I like to get the new members of glee on the show, so people know how popular I am. Do you want to come on?'

'Um, yes please!' I paused. 'When is it?'

'Can you do this Saturday? you can stay for dinner.'

'That sounds good. I'll have to ask my dad, but he'll be so happy that I made friends that he'll say yes straight away!'

'Well, Lauren's sleeping over with Sofia on Saturday, so tell him that if he says no.' Santana laughed.

'Haha I will do. Thanks Santana. Thank you for inviting me Brittany.'

'That's ok Lexie. I think we have to go talk to Coach Sylvester… Santana?'

'Yup, let's go. See you later guys.' Santana stood up, but then pushed someone out the way… which was pretty funny, random but funny…

'Santana's aggressive on the outside, but she can be sweet, especially to the vulnerable… sometimes, anyway.' Quinn laughed.

'Sounds like Puck as well.'

'Yeah it does actually.'

'_Looks like you've made a friend or 3 :P'_Finn text me… I looked along the table at him, and he smiled at me. Idiot.

'_Yup. Quinn's nice... I like her... Brittany's asked me to be on her web show and sleep round hers on Saturday… good idea?'_

'_She is… Um… Yeah, it'll be fine… Britt's lovely, and her mom's cool… New hair?'_

'_Yeah, I got slushied :( Quinn found me and sorted me out :D'_

'_Haha that was nice… speak later :P'_

He's so weird… I looked at him, then glanced at Lauren. She looked so uncomfortable. I haven't really been told much about her, but apparently we have to make sure she eats… Which she always seems to have trouble with… I decided to text her too.

'_Are you ok? x'_

'_Yeah, but S + R are acting really weird. x'_I wish I could tell her.

'_Come and sit with me and Quinn :D x'_

'_I will :D x'_

I watched her get up and she sat next to me. Quinn gave me a funny look, like a warning look… I stuck my tongue out at her, and she started laughing.

Lauren's POV

Nobody can tell when I'm upset or unhappy. I have a amazing 'show face', well that's what Blaine tells me. Only him and Sofia can seem to see through it. Cooper can't really; the age difference between us is too much. I mean, he sort of can, in a way – he has a soft spot for me. Blaine's obviously known me my whole life, we grew up together Sofia's known me only for 2 years, but we met in special circumstances. But Lexie… Lexie, I met her on Monday and she can already tell. How amazing is that? Maybe I'm losing my ability to hide my feeling. I already feel like an older sister of hers… sort of, anyway. I feel I can just… Let go with her, be a kid, have fun. I can just forget about my eating disorder (ok, not fully…), and be myself.

I'm worried about this afternoon though… I've never known anyone with cancer, and I don't know how to act around Tom. I've just got to be there for Lexie, just be a friend to her. I kinda want to talk to Cooper about it; he will know what to do. If he's not too busy… I might call him when I get home tonight. I might talk to him about what's going on at home too. I hope he comes to visit soon, It's hard him being so far way. I miss him.

'So, are you looking forward to this afternoon?' I asked as I shook myself out of my thoughts and I began to eat my lunch.

'Uh-huh.' She nodded. 'It's the longest I've gone without seeing him.'

'24 hours?' Quinn frowned.

'My daddy wanted to be super-protective of me. So I was never allowed to go on field trips that lasted more than one day.' Lexie explained. 'Like last year, in 8th Grade, just before we graduated, my class was going on a camping trip. Even though he said it would be good for me, he said I couldn't go.'

'And what did you think about that?' Quinn spoke slowly…Quinn is wise, I could tell this convo was going somewhere like that.

'At first I was annoyed, because I really wanted to go. But then while the class was gone, daddy let me have lots of fun... Like, he took me to Six Flags for no reason, and let me have a pajama day. And, when they came back, my friends told me that the bullies in the class basically targeted them.'

'Maybe your dad was right for being protective of you.' Quinn raised an eyebrow. In a nice kinda way. It did turn out to be a wise conversation.

'I know.' Lexie smiled widely. One thing that I've noticed about her is that she loves to talk about her dad in the best ways possible. She absolutely adores him – which is how it should be. I don't know how she would cope if Tom dies. I can't even imagine it. She will be _distraught_, to say the least.


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt's POV

I just got some news about Tom from Carole, which apparently he doesn't want Lexie to know over text. But he wanted Blaine, Lauren, and I to know, so it won't be too much of a shock for us when she is told and we can comfort her when she finds out without being in shock as well. Finn was told too because he won't be at the hospital until later tonight. It's going to be a long afternoon. Oh well, at least Blaine won't be with his dad for the evening… And Lauren, according to what Blaine's been telling me.

'What time are the girls getting here?' Blaine woke me out of my ideas while blowing his coffee.

'Should be here soon.' I glanced at my watch... 3.40…

'Puck's dropping them off.'

'Well that's not a good sign…' He laughed.

'He's a good guy… When he wants to be!' I grinned.

'How do you think Lexie will take the news of Tom?' Blaine's smile faltered. He looked down at his coffee to try hide his face.

'She'll be really upset. But it won't be too bad, I mean, he's not dead.' At least not yet. I saw that thought cross Blaine's mind too.

After a few more minutes, I saw Lauren and Lexie walk in quickly. 'Here they are. Hey Lexie, Lauren!'

'Hi Kurt!' Lauren hugged me before turning to hug Blaine. I watched as she hugged her brother, it was a very meaningful loving hug… Just what they needed after the night they had yesterday.

'Hey Kurty…' Lexie looked up at me in the same way she does to Finn… she hardly ever looks at me like that… she then smiled shyly at Blaine.

'Come on Lex, let's go and get drinks. Do you want anything?' Lauren looked between me and Blaine, with a look that was knowing, sad, and inquisitive all at the same time. We shook our heads. She reached out to grab Lexie's hand and her sleeve slid up her arm a little, there was a big purple bruise on her wrist. I saw her notice me looking and she quickly pulled her sleeve back up again and walked to the till.

'I feel so bad.' Blaine practically whispered after they were gone.

'Why? What's wrong Blaine?' I took his hand, already knowing what he was going to say.

'Did you see the bruise on Lauren's wrist? That was my fault…' His voice broke on the last syllable.

'No it wasn't Blaine.'

'She was sticking up for me!' He nearly screamed at me; this thing is eating him from the inside out.

'Blaine, whether she was sticking up for you or not, I think your dad would have done that to her at some point in the future. It was only a matter of time; he's unpredictable.'

'I know. I just feel so helpless; the only good thing about him was that he didn't hurt Lauren… But now….' Blaine trailed off as the girls came back.

'Kurty, can I sit on your lap please?' Lexie asked, still shy, but able to give me puppy dog eyes. I know Finn doesn't want her to act like a child all the time, but it's darn cute! I always give in.

'Of course you can Sweetie! How was your day?'

'I got slushied, and then Quinn helped me and redone my hair. I like Quinn. Then Brittany and Santana asked if I can be on Brittany's web show on Saturday.'

As she said this, I watched Lauren and Blaine have their conversation. They were looking at each other as if they were both angels; well, they are. You can see the love for each other in their eyes, I don't know what they would do if something happened to the other…

'Well being slushied is horrible, but you made a friend, so it was a good day.' She suddenly grimaced. 'Are you ok Lexie?'

'I just had a bad feeling; I think something bad's gonna happen. Is my dad ok? Is there any news?'

'I don't know Lexie-boo… You'll have to ask him when we get to the hospital; my dad will be here soon to pick us up.' I really want to tell her… She'll be devastated.

'Not Carole?'

'No, she's going to stay with your dad. But he will be here soon, don't worry.' I put my chin on her shoulder, which seemed to comfort her a little.

Lauren's POV

Sitting in Burt's truck I saw Blaine glance at my arm for what felt like the millionth time and bit his lip.

'Stop, Blainers. It's not your fault, it's mine. It doesn't even hurt anymore.' I lied, hoping that he couldn't tell. He didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway.

'Guys, Finn's going to get take-out for us all on the way to the hospital; text him what you want.' Burt spoke to all of us.

'You know he'll choose pizza.' Blaine laughed, and we all agreed.

We got into Tom's room just before Lexie and Burt. Me and Blaine stood behind Kurt. I wanted to blend into the wall, knowing what was going to be said. But I couldn't so I clutched at Blaine's hand as Lexie also came into the room. She immediately stopped as soon as she saw Tom and Carole's expression.

'Have y'all been crying? What's wrong? Daddy?'

'Alex… We have to tell you something…' Tom trailed off. I wanted to cry myself, but I had to be strong for Lexie. Or at least pretend to be. I wrapped my arms around Blaine's waist and rested my head on his chest while watching what was going on. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

'Daddy?' Lexie's eyes widened as Tom shut his.

'Lexie, sweetie, come here.' Carole encouraged her. This reminds me of the story that Lexie told me about when her mom died. Lexie had a purely terrifying look as she walked to Carole and was basically pulled on to her lap.

'W-what's wrong Auntie Carole?' Her voice sounds pained.

'Lexie, your dad… He's going to… the cancer is… terminal…' Carole began to cry…. This must be hard on her too; it's her brother…

'He's going to die Lexie.'

'WHA-'Lexie screamed half the word before breaking down in tears. Tom started to cry a little when he heard all this, but didn't say a word before Lexie ran out of the room.

We all stared at each other, daring each other to speak. I made the decision to follow her. I tried to get out of Blaine's arms, but he held on tightly to me.

'Blaine, she needs someone. I have to go.' I whispered hoarsely. He looked into my eyes before slowly letting go. I ran out of the room, and found Lexie down the hall on the floor. She was in a ball, just sobbing her eyes out. I moved to sit next to her, and rubbed her back to try and comfort her.

Kurt's POV

After Lexie ran out of the room crying – which was just plain heartbreaking – and Lauren had gone to comfort her, Tom looked at my dad and Carole. 'I wanted to wait until I could talk to both of you, and now you're here Burt, I wanted to ask you both something.'

'What is it Tom?' Dad went to stand behind Carole, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

'The doctor says I only have a few weeks to go. I want you to be Lexie's guardians; even adopting her if the law says so. But either way, I want her to stay with you, whatever happens.' Carole and Dad looked at each other for less than a second before answering him.

'Of course we will Tom. You didn't even need to ask. We will be happy to.' Dad shook hands with Tom, and Carole hugged him gently.

'Thank you so much. I can't think of anything better for my baby.'

When Finn came into the room an hour later, carrying a couple of pizza boxes, he was clutching Lexie's hand, and she was rubbing her eyes with her free hand. I could tell he was kinda annoyed, but he was trying to hide it. Lauren came in as well straight after them. I text Finn as Lexie silently sat on the bed next to Tom.

'_Finn, don't be too hard on Lex. She's having a tough time. Let her be a kid.'_

'_I know, don't worry. I'm stressed about it myself.'_

'_I get it, but taking it out on her won't be helpful.'_ He gave me a kinda 'sorry' look that was mixed with sadness.

'Come on guys, here's your food.' Dad and Carole gave us each a disposable plate with 2 slices of pizza on it.

'Thanks Dad.' I smiled at him, before glancing at Lauren who was sitting next to Blaine's chair on the floor. She was looking at the pizza with a very wary look picking of the toppings. I caught her attention, and gave her a sympathetic, yet warning, look, encouraging her to eat. She nodded and rolled her eyes at me at me before taking a couple of bites.

'Lexie, here's your pizza.' Carole tried to hand her a plate, but she shook her head, and then rested on Tom's chest as she snaked her arms around his middle.

'Baby, you should eat something.' Tom stroked her hair.

'I'm not hungry Daddy.' She whispered, sounding really sleepy.

Lauren's POV

I swear Finn always chooses the greasiest, most calorie filled foods. Luckily we hardly ever eat it; Kurt is an amazing cook. Lexie was right not to eat any of the pizza. She had fallen asleep on Tom an hour after we ate. She's had a tough day. Burt stood up. 'I think it's time to go; what do you think guys?' He looked at us.

'Yup. I'll drop you off.' Finn turned to me and Blaine.

'I'll go with you.' Kurt also stood up as Burt unlatched Lexie from Tom and picked her up.

'Awesome…' Blaine feigned a smile as we all got ready to leave.

'Don't worry Blainers. It'll be ok. Dad knew where we were, and it's not too late.' I whispered, half-smiling.

'It _should_ be ok Lauren.' We said bye to Tom and then to Burt and Carole before we split off and walked to Finn's car.

When we got home, I slowly opened the front door with Blaine behind me, his hand in mine. 'We're home!' I called through the hallway.

'Finally; where have you been?' He appeared in front of us.

'We were at the hospital with our friend, like you agreed. We're home way before curfew Dad.' I heard my voice was wavering towards the end. Blaine squeezed my hand.

'Fine. But go to your rooms and do your homework, both of you. And I mean actually do the homework' He glared at me. When I got to my room I checked my phone, and I apparently had a missed call from Sofia. When the hell did she call me?

I got out my math book to make it look like I was working as I called Sofia back.

'Hey, you called me!'

'I know.' She sounded weirdly happy. 'Oh, Lauren… I was looking through photos of us and Rory from the past 2 years…' She started giggling euphorically. I was a little worried.

'Okaaay. Are you ok Sofia? Are you on drugs or something?'

'Only the love drug!'

'What? Sofia Pierce-Smith! You're in love? Oh my gosh who is he?'

'I'll tell you another time… Oh… but Lauren I just called you because I've remembered how much I love you! You're my best friend Lauren… My very very best-'She was cut off when the phone was snatched out my hand.

I span around to find my dad. 'Dad, what are you doing? Give my phone back.'

'Who were you talking to Lauren?' He seemed really angry…

This could go either way. 'Um… Sofia.'

'And why? I told you to do your homework.'

'Because I… needed help on my math. You know I'm not the best at that.'

'You should have asked Blaine. He's an A grade student, especially in math.' What? I couldn't believe what I'd just heard!

'YOU DIDN'T SEEM TO THINK THAT YESTERDAY!'

'Calm down Lauren. If you need help, go now.'

'NO! I'M FED UP OF YOU ALWAYS BEING ON BLAINE'S CASE. HE'S A GOOD PERSON! ONLY YEASTERDAY YOU WERE SHOUTING AT BLAINE ABOUT HIS GRADE AND NOW YOU SEEM FINE WITH THEM! I- '

Suddenly I felt a slap on my left cheek. I stood shocked for a moment then looked at my dad; he had fire in his eyes. It didn't calm me down- it just made me angrier.

'THAT'S MY FREAKING POINT. YOU'RE WILLING TO HURT YOUR SON JUST BECAUSE HE'S GAY!'

His hand fell again. Harder. I fell back into my desk chair as he walked out of the room. I got on my bed and curled up crying.


	8. Chapter 8

Sofia's POV

What the hell just happened?

Lauren phone just went dead. I hope she's ok. Maybe her phone ran out of battery… but, she usually keeps it charged fully. I'll try to call her again later. I might as well get on with my homework.

After an agonizing 20 minutes, I tried to call her back, but it went straight to voicemail.

What's going on? I decided to text Blaine.

'_Hey, is Lauren ok? I was on the phone to her when we got cut off. I tried to call back but her phone's off =/ x.'_

'_Dad took her phone. She's ok though… x'_He replied quickly.

'_Are you sure? I thought I heard some shouting before we were cut off… =('_

'_Let her tell you more tomorrow. But she's fine, I promise. I'm with her now'_

'_Ok, thanks Blaine.'_

I shut my phone off for the night after that. I'm still worried though; I hope her dad didn't do anything.

Just before I went to bed, I weighed myself after the meeting with Coach Sylvester this afternoon. My weight hasn't changed, but that's not going to last long.

Lauren's POV

The next thing I knew, my alarm was going off. I reached out and put it on snooze, but as I got closer, it turned off on its own. What on earth?

The last thing I remember was lying on my bed crying. My eyes snapped open and I realized my head was on someone's chest. Blaine. He must have heard me crying and come to check on me.

'What are you doing Blaine?'

'You should've put ice on that; it's going to bruise.' He ignored my question and reached for an ice pack on the side.

'Thanks Blainers.'

'What happened Laur?' He rested his head on mine. 'I heard you shouting at him.' He whispered. From the tone of his voice, he probably heard the slaps too.

'Well…I was talking to Sofia, dad heard me and I told him it was because of the math homework, which it wasn't. I guess he knew I was lying...' I didn't want to tell Blaine the truth. I tried to get up but his arm was tightly around me.

'Will you be ok at school?'

'I'll cover it with make up; I'll be fine Blainers, I promise.'

'Sofia text me last night, worried.' I looked up at him and he looked at me.

'Ok, thanks. I'll tell her what happened, she deserves to know that much.' He nodded.

'I've asked Finn to pick us up 15 minutes earlier so we don't have to stay here for too long; Dad thinks it's because I have a school thing, which it kinda is. I have a lot of practicing to do for tomorrow.'

'You'll do great. You always kill it.' I kissed him on the cheek 'Love you Blainers'

'Thanks Lauren. Love you too. Anyway, I'll leave you to get ready.' He stood up. I noticed he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday.

'Wait, were you here all night?'

'Yup. Just fulfilling my brotherly duties' He said while walking out. Awww…

When I got downstairs after getting ready, Dad looked at me strangely and then just gave me my phone. 'Umm…Thank you?' I kinda half-mumbled before walking around him to Mom.

'What do you want for breakfast?' She watched my dad as she spoke.

'Nothing thanks Mom.' I sat down and stared at the table. As I sat down, Dad got up and left.

'He's gone.' She whispered. 'Oh Laurie I'm so sorry. I should never have let him do that.'

'You let it happen to Blaine.' I kept my eyes on the table.

'I know and feel awful about it. I'm going to try talk to your dad about it, but you know what he's like.'

'Thanks Mom. But don't let him hurt you. Please Mom, we can't _all_be hurt.' I hugged her as I got Finn's text.

'Have a good day at school sweetie.'

'I will Mom. And good luck.' She gave me a hug as Blaine came down the stairs.

'Ready to go Laur'

'Yup' I grabbed my bag and walked to the door.

I slid in first, next to Lexie. That's our automatic car seatage. Finn drives, Kurt's in the passenger seat, Lexie's behind him, then me, and then Blaine behind Finn.

'Hey kiddo!' Me and Blaine said at the same time to Lexie. 'JINX' I yelled.

'Ahh, man. But that's not…'

'Shhhhhhh, I said jinx and you didn't so, Shhhhhhh…' Blaine raised his eyebrow and pretended to lock his mouth. I had to laugh.

'Hi guys.' She seemed in a waaay better mood than yesterday, but she was… detached… almost emotionless.

'You ok Lexie?' She just nodded.

After a couple of minutes Finn spoke. 'Ready for tomorrow Blaine?'

Blaine looked at me in a 'can I speak now' way.

'Fine. Unjinx.'

'Hurrayy! I think so. Mostly, anyway. I want to get on that stage!'

'We might be competing at Regional's.'

'Then there will be more chance of at least some of us going to Nationals… which is a good thing.' Kurt turned around.

'Guess what?' Lexie excitedly turned to me. Where did that come from?

'Don't interrupt Alex.' Finn frowned.

'Heeeey!' She whined… Blaine laughed again. I grinned at Kurt, and replied to Lexie, making Finn shake his head at me.

'What?'

'My Daddy's coming home today! He's picking me up from school after Glee.'

'That's awesome Lexie!'

'Girls, remember we have a recess glee meeting today.' Finn glanced back at us. I just rolled my eyes, making Lexie giggle at me. He's such a dad to us, which in my case is nice. I looked at Blaine and Kurt, who seemed to be texting each other, Kurt looking back every so often, knowingly. I guess Blaine is telling Kurt about what happened last night… or at least, what he thinks happened last night.

Lexie's POV

As we got out of the car, after dropping Kurt and Blaine off at Dalton, Sofia came up to me… She looked at Lauren first.

'Laur, I'll talk to you in a bit… I just want to talk to Lexie for a bit.' Wait, what? She has barely spoken 2 words to me… She led me on to the grass bit in front of the school, where it was kinda crowded, mostly with cheerleaders.

'Um, hey Sofia. What's up?'

'Lauren told me about your dad. I'm really sorry Lexie.'

'Errrrrm…thanks…'

'Anyway, I better go, see you later.' She walked off, and I looked up, to find myself in a circle of cheerleaders, all of them looking at me. I slowly turned around, and realized they were all holding slushies. I squeezed my eyes close as the sticky ice came towards me.

Sofia's POV

After I walked off the grass verge, I walked past Rachel, who joined me. 'Good work Sofia.' She beamed with her… I don't know… I guess… devious smile.

'Thanks. It's kinda mean, but she needs it.'

'I'm glad you agree.' She glanced at Finn, who was now walking beside us. 'See you in glee Sofia.'

'Will do, Berry.' She frowned at me before scurrying away.

I arrived at my locker, to find Lauren waiting for me. 'So, Lauren, what happened last night?' I turned to her after sorting out my things for the morning.

'Nothing!' She gave me such a fake smile.

'Don't give me that. What happened last night Lauren?' She sighed and looked down, before leading me into a nearby empty classroom.

'M-my dad took the phone from me when we were talking. I told him you were helping me with my math, and then he told me that I could have asked Blaine for help. I kinda started to shout at him about Wednesday, and he hit me.' She closed her eyes. 'I shouted at him again, about him hurting Blaine, but he hit me again. Harder.' She suddenly started to cry.

'I'm so sorry babes. Where did he do it?' I didn't see any bruises or anything… even though I knew about the one on her wrist.

'Here.' She pointed to her left cheek. 'I covered it with make-up. Blaine thinks that he hit me because I was shouting at him about the phone… please don't tell him it wasn't!'

'I won't, I won't. Let's go to the bathroom, and fix your mascara.'

'Thank you Sofia.' She turned and hugged me, as she smirked. 'Oh, and Sof, I love you too. And your gonna have to tell me who you love in _that_kinda way.'

'You'll know soon enough, I promise.' I mirrored her smirk as we walked out of the room.

Santana's POV

I found Lexie walking into school, in a blind panic. She was covered, literally, from head to toe, in Slushie.

'Lex, its Santana. I'm just gonna take you into the Cheerios bathroom to get this stuff off you.' I took her hand, and she was shivering. It's funny when it happens to Rachel, but not to Lexie, she's really little for her age. Who ever done this to her is gonna get their butt kicked.

After I helped clean her up, and got her into her clean clothes, which Quinn apparently told her to bring yesterday, I guess she knew. I sat her on the bench in the middle of the room. 'Who did this to you Lexie?'

'The Cheerios. Well, obviously not you and Brittany, and Sofia wasn't there either. But she seemed to set me up a little.'

'That's a lot of people.' I frowned.

'Actually, the people who are in my homeroom didn't do it as well.'

'Probably because they know how nice you are.' She smiled timidly at me. 'I'll walk you to homeroom; we better go. Who's your teacher?'

'Mr. Schue.' She giggled.

'Lucky! Come on…' I stood up, pulling her up with me.

'Thank you Santana.' She suddenly hugged me.

'That's ok kiddo.' She then started to sniff… like, in a crying type of way. 'Hey, what's up?'

'It's terminal. My Daddy's cancer. It's terminal.' I squeezed her harder.

'Oh Lexie.'

'But I'm gonna be positive. I'm gonna have fun with him, make more memories. So our time is happy. Mostly happy, anyway.'

'Glad to hear. If you want a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you kiddo.'

'Thanks Santana.'

'Did you ask about tomorrow?' I asked as we began down the hallway.

'Damn it, I forgot.'

'That's ok, just text me or B to say if you can come or not.'

'Ok, I will do.' She grinned at me again as we got to Mr. Schue's classroom.

'See you at recess kiddo.' She hugged me again before walking inside.

I walked away from the room and basically walked straight into Britt.

'Sup, B?'

'San, I'm worried about Sofia. She's acting really weird.'

'What do you mean?'

'I don't know. She's just… acting weird.'

'Well, she put on a pound yesterday at weigh-in… Coach probably had a meeting with her.'

'Yeah, I think they talked during school yesterday.'

'Well then, Sofia's just probably worried about putting on more weight.'

'You're probably right San.' She smiled at me.

'Of course I am.' We linked pinkies before walking to our own homeroom.

'We need to talk to the Cheerios…'

'Why?'

'There was a mass Slushie attack on Lexie. Look at this.' I showed her the photo I managed to get on my cell.

'Oh my gosh.' Britt gasped.

'I know. It's terrible.'

'I didn't do it San, I promise.' She bit her lip really cutely.

'I know you didn't Britt, I know. But most of the Cheerios _did_do it.'

'Ok, we'll talk to them.'

'Awesome! I think lunch is the first time we can do it. I want to do it earlier, but that's the only chance we'll get.' B nodded as we walked into homeroom.

Lauren's POV

'Where's Rory?' I turned on my chair, propping my feet on Sofia's lap. She gave me a mock glare, and then smirked as she answered.

'His mom has to drop his brother at elementary school before coming here; the bus routes aren't near their house yet.'

The whole family only just moved out here, finally! Rory's been waiting _forever_for them.

'Oh ok. Is that why he doesn't get told off yet?' I laughed.

'Haha yup, pretty much.'

'Noooo, gimme a clue? About this secret little boyfriend of yours…' I poked her.

'Um…Well…You know him…' She smiled warily.

'Well _that_narrows it down.' I smirked back at her.

I'm really intrigued now… damn best friends! They like to tease! Who is this mystery boy?

Sofia's POV

As Rory walked through the door, he smiled at me, really widely, but not at Lauren, as if he didn't know she was there. I tilted my head gently at her, but he still didn't get it. He's such an idiot sometimes… A loveable idiot. I glared at him for a second, pointing my eyes at Lauren, and he finally got it and smiled at her too She raised an eyebrow at us.

'You guys are so… weird.'

'But you love us, right?'

'Duh!' She giggled.

'So, how are you guys?' Rory sat opposite us.

'I'm alright, thanks.' I smiled at him from the side, and he winked at me.

'I'm pretty awesome.' Lauren pronounced flatly and looked down at her hands, as if she was trying to believe it herself.

'You don't sound it…' Rory frowned. Lauren looked at him, and visibly shook herself, kinda like she wasn't in the room before.

'I'm fine Rory; I was just…thinking about something.' She smiled.

'Okaaaay…' He narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

I had chemistry with Rory first, and Lauren was in the room down the corridor. It was the first chance we got to be alone… kinda, anyway. Luckily our teacher doesn't usually care how we are in class, so we could act however we wanted.

'Are you free tonight? Would you like to go out?'

'Of course I'll come out with you Rory! What would you like to do?'

'Dinner and a movie. I know its cliché, but I think it's romantic.' I felt myself go red at the word 'romantic', especially as it's my best friend who said it.

I hope where we're going has some healthy food… Ms Sylvester will chop my head off otherwise.

'Awesome!

'I'll pick you up at 7. By that, of course, I mean I'll meet you then, and we'll get the bus; I hope you don't mind.'

It's all we have, other than getting his Mom or Aunt Hillary to take us, but I don't mind.

'That's fine Rory. As long as I'm with you.' I smiled shyly at him. It's really weird now that our relationship's changed… It's like I've forgotten how to act around him.

When it was finally recess, we walked to the choir room for the glee meeting. It's actually my favorite meeting of the week; we all just relax and have fun. The only thing that really happens is that Mr. Schuester picks 3 names out of a box, and those people sing solos at the end of the day. I've only done that once, thankfully. I'm more of a group singer I think.

'So, guys…!' Mr. Schue came in a few minutes later. 'Let's see who's going to sing this afternoon!'

He picked up the box that held everyone's names. 'I added Lexie's name to the box this morning, and Lauren's name is officially in there!' He held the box up excitedly

'Mr. Schue, Wasn't it in there anyway?' Tina frowned.

'Yes, but not officially' He put his hand in the box. 'The first singer is… Santana!' She cheered, and so did Britt. Everyone grinned towards her.

'Santana, please pick out the second person.' He held the box towards her.

'Ok.' She smiled as she reached inside. 'Tina, it's you!' She playfully and gently punched her on the arm.

'Great! About time I got a solo around here! Haha' Tina looked at Mike, and he put her arm around her. She took her turn to take a name out of the box.

'It's… Lauren!' She exclaimed, while Mr. Schue collected the names back up.

'Really?' Lauren's eyes widened and brightened. 'I have the perfect song.' She whispered to me.

'What is it?'

'It's by Demi Lovato.' She bit her lip. I thought for a moment.

'I think I know the one… Yup, it's perfect.' I nodded.

After a while, all we heard was Rachel's voice, as usual. This time she was yammering on about Shelby, who had recently decided to have a mother-daughter relationship with her. Even though that's good for Rachel, we don't need her harping on about _another_ thing.

'…Anyway, she was late to meet at the coffee shop. Like, really late. And I was so worried, it's not like her. I was excited to see the show, so I thought it was really selfish of her and…'

'Will you shut up!' Lexie suddenly stood up in front of Rachel. Whoa…

'What?' Ms Berry was suddenly speechless.

'Stop complaining about your Mom. At least you have a Mom! I don't, so stop whining about how she's late to meet you, probably by only a few minutes. It's so irritating!' She has a point.

'So are you when you whine about everything!' Finn gave her a warning look. Lexie looked at him, frustrated, before carrying on.

'You complain.' Rachel shrugged.

'Yeah, but not about my dad. You have 3 parents, and all you do is complain about them! I have one parent, AND HES DYING.' She started to shout, with tears in her eyes. 'It's not fair! Just be grateful for your parents, that's all I'm saying!'

'I am grateful.' Rachel said, mostly to herself.

'No you're not! Stop complaining about your 3 parents, and see them for who they are. Maybe if they were dying, you would start caring.' Lexie squeaked nervously when Rachel stood up; Lexie is one of the few people who are smaller than her. Like, way smaller.

'Look, little girl, I know what's going on in your life. But don't take it out on me, and let me rant like a normal person.'

'It's not fair!' Lexie unexpectedly stomped her foot, and span around to storm out.

'What just happened?' Rachel turned around slowly, with a really confused look on her face. I seriously wish I had popcorn for that whole display. That was great!

'What just happened is that she just done to you, what you usually do to us…' Santana smirked. Everyone agreed with her, even Finn was smiling.

'But… I was… just…' Rachel huffed before sitting down.

'Rach, Santana has a point. You storm out on us a few times a month at least.' Mr. Schue stood up to regain some order again. The bell rang, so he had no chance of that.

'Remember guys, at the auditorium by 3.15. And, Santana, Tina and Lauren, tell Brad what songs you want to do by lunch.'

'Ok...' Santana's and Tina's voices floated back through the door as they headed out off the room. Lauren went to speak to Brad straight away, and he looked really surprised, then thoughtful when he found out her song. I might film it this afternoon, and show it to Blaine. I think he would really like to see her sing that song.

Lauren's POV

I sat in math, not listening to the lecture about algebra. I didn't need it; I'm _awesome_ at algebra. While looking out the window – the corridor is surprisingly interesting to watch when you're bored – I decided to text Cooper.

'_Hey, are you free later? Can I call you?'_

It took him a few minutes, but he did actually text back. Probably because of how random my text was.

'_Yeah, you can call me anytime tonight. Are you ok? Is something wrong?'_

'_I wanna ask you about something. Something kinda important.'_

I'm gonna ask him if he was ever hit by dad. I just hope he doesn't do anything about it. It might make it worse.

'_I'm free all afternoon. Call me at lunch.'_

'_I will, thanks Cooper.'_

'_Anytime sis. Speak to you later.'_

I suddenly couldn't wait until lunch; I felt like I really, really need to speak to him, as soon as possible. I put my head on the table, in my arms, and rested it there for a bit. It's already been a long day, and it's barely halfway over.

All of a sudden, we all heard a door slam from across the corridor. I glanced at Sofia, and she shrugged, before pointing at the window. I turned around, and saw Lexie outside the classroom, pouting. Was she in trouble? What the heck…? She looked around at her surroundings, and as we locked eyes, I gave her the same look Finn does when she's 'naughty'. She looked away, as her teacher left the room, holding her backpack, and led her away. I'm assuming that she's going to the principal's office. She's gonna be in big trouble.

Lexie's POV

I can't believe I'm in trouble _again_. It wasn't even my fault; I only asked the teacher to stop asking me what was wrong. Apparently I looked upset, and he kept bugging me. I mean, I guess I could have said it in a nicer way, but he was annoying me. He's talking to Principal Figgins while I wait outside; Figgins keeps glancing at me, which is pretty worrying.

After a while, my teacher came out and smiled at me.

'Come on Alex, let's go.' I hate when teachers call me Alex… Just because most people with the name Alexandra shorten their names to Alex, doesn't mean I do. I just wish they would ask what I would like to be called.

'Where are we going?'

'To Miss Pillsbury's office. She wants to talk to you.'

'Um, ok.' I bit my lip. I kinda didn't want to speak to her. She's really nice, but I'm not in the mood. Especially as Mr. Schuester probably told her about what happened in glee today.

'Lexie, why have you been so angry today?' She made me sit on the couch thing, while she sat on the seat that was usually for students. I just shrugged.

'You can talk to me; I'm here to help you.'

'I guess… I don't know. I've just had a bad day.' I pouted, while picking at a loose thread on my top.

'Why do you think that?'

'I'm scared.' I whispered. 'He's gonna die. I don't want him to, but he's going to. And I guess what happened this morning put me in a bad mood. And then I was mean to Rachel.'

'What happened this morning?'

'Uh… Nothing, I just got slushied a couple times.' I bit my lip… I don't wanna get the Cheerios in trouble, it might happen again otherwise.

'I'm 14, I need my dad.' Ms Pillsbury nodded in understanding, and her phone rang as she was about to say something.

'Hello? Yes, she's with me now… Already? Well, I want to talk to him, so I'll be over soon.' She took the phone away from her ear. 'Lexie, will you be ok on your own for a bit?'

'Uh, yeah, I'll be ok I guess.'

'Ok.' She spoke into the phone a while more. 'I'll be right over.' She smiled at me, before walking out of the room. I think my dad's in school already.

After a couple of minutes, Santana stuck her head through the door. 'Are you following me?' I smirked at her, and she smiled.

'Haha no, I spoke to Ms Pillsbury, and she mentioned that you're in here.' She and Brittany came inside, and she sat on the same chair that Ms Pillsbury sat on. Brittany sat on the floor next to her. 'What are you doing in here anyway?'

'Uh, I kinda shouted at my teacher. I think after that and what happened in glee, they wanted me to come and talk to her.'

'That's so badass!' Santana grinned, and Brittany laughed.

'Uh…' I half-smiled, shyly.

'That's a good thing Lexie...' Brittany reassured me. '…At least in Santana's book.'

'Awesome.' I smiled properly.

'Lexie, you're dad is outside.' Ms Pillsbury came back in, smiling at all of us. Sure enough, when I looked up, he was standing just outside. I squealed, and Brittany and Santana smiled at each other before hugging me. I ran outside the room.

'Daddy!' I ran into a hug, and he picked me up.

'Hello baby!'

'Daddy, put me down! You're too weak.'

'No I'm not baby, not yet.' He laughed sadly. 'I'm not going to be happy when I have to stop picking you up and things.'

'Neither will I Daddy!'

'Who were your friends?'

'Santana and Brittany; they're Seniors in glee. Oh, Brittany asked if I can sleep around her house tomorrow night, because she wants me to be in her web show. Am I allowed?'

'We'll talk about it after we've talked about what's happened today.'

'But Lauren will be sleeping round with Brittany's cousin too.' I half-whined.

'We'll talk about it. Now, we'd better go; your Auntie Carole is waiting outside for us, in the car.' He let me down, and took my hand as we walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Lauren's POV

As soon as the lunch bell rang I headed to the choir room, but Sofia stopped me as I was leaving the room.

'Where are you going Lauren?'

'To talk to Cooper.' I said, waving my cell phone at her.

'You need to eat first.' Well I should have seen that coming…

'I'm fine; it's kinda important that I talk to Coop. And I've got something to eat anyway.' I rolled my eyes.

'Show me.' Sometimes I wish she didn't know about my problems.

I opened my bag, letting her see what I had in there. 'A chocolate bar and a packet of chips? You can't be serious!'

'Hey! I've got water too…' I trailed off when I saw the look she gave me.

'Can you grab me something please? I'll get it from you at when I'm done.'

'Ok, I will do.' She hugged me. 'Sorry for being too over-protective and whatever, but I feel I have to be. Have a good talk with your brother.'

'I get it; you're my best friend, my sister.' I smiled. 'And thanks, I feel like I need to talk to him.'

'Ok, see you in a bit.' She grinned at me, before walking with Rory towards the cafeteria.

I headed into the choir room and sat by the piano. My phone buzzed as soon as I sat down. It was a message from Blaine.  
>'Hey Laur, Cooper text me saying you urgently need to call him. What's up? Why didn't you call me?'<p>

He seems so hurt. I wanna tell Blaine Exactly what happened last night and about my planned conversation with Cooper, but I don't need him worrying about anything else. He has enough to deal with.  
>'Hey B, I'm sorry but I just need to speak to Coop about something. I know we normally tell each other everything but you got to let me go on this. Sorry :'  
>I hope he doesn't ask too many questions later. After sending the text I dialed Cooper's number.<p>

'Hello to my favorite Sister.'  
>'Coop, I'm your only Sister.'<br>'Doesn't make you less my favorite!'  
>'I'm rolling my eyes through the phone at you.'<br>'Haha, that must look ridiculous! Anyway what's up sister of mine?'  
>I really wanna ask about Dad, but he might get angry... Coop knows what's going on but when he's home we never talk about it and nothing ever seems to happen, like we're back to being a 'normal' family.<br>'Umm... Well...I…' I couldn't seem to get the words out.  
>'Yeeeeesssssssss?'<br>'When you still lived here, in Lima, did Dad ever, you know... Hit... you?' As I spoke my voice got quieter.  
>'Wow Lauren. Where'd that come from?'<br>'I'm just...curious. We've never talked about it before and yeah...'  
>'Yes, he has. But only a few times when I really broke his rules...He hit you didn't he.' I could hear the anger grow in his voice.<br>'Well, I was arguing with him...about Blaine and how he treats him, I guess I overstepped a little...'  
>'I KNEW IT AS SOON AS I HEARD YOUR VOICE! I'M GONNA DEAL WITH HIM THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM. HOW DARE HE HURT MY LITTLE INNOCENT SISTER!'<br>Annnnd he's angry. Great.  
>'Cooper! Its fine. I promise. It's only a small bruise. Don't stress yourself out over it.'<br>'Anything that involves either you or Blaine is worth stressing about. You're my fellow Andersons and I'd do anything for you.'  
>'...Coop?'<br>'Yeah Laur?'  
>'My name got picked to sing a solo at this afternoons Glee meeting and I have I song I was thinking of singing. I've sent you the link. What do you think?'<br>'I wondered why you sent that to me! I think it's perfect. Just, try not to get to emotional. It'll ring alarm bells for your teacher.'  
>'Thanks Coop, Sofia is waiting for me to go have lunch, so I'd better go.'<br>'Alright. Just be careful and call me anytime you need, I can always make time for you.'  
>'Love you Coop.'<br>'Love you Laur.'  
>I headed to the canteen to meet the others, throwing my cell into my bag as I walked out of the room.<p>

Sofia's POV

After Lauren came into the canteen, she looked way happier. That conversation with her brother must have done her a lot of good.

'Hey Laur!'

'Sofia!' She grinned at me. 'What's up? Why are you sitting here?' She looked at Rory and me. 'Um, it was really loud over at the other tables.' He stumbled as he tried to lie to her.

'Yeah, we decided to grab a table for just us.' I tried saved Rory from his lie, it seemed to work. 'How did it go?'

'It was awesome! I love talking to Cooper. Somehow he always make me smile' She sat down, lowering her voice. 'I'm worried he's gonna call my dad about it all. It's gonna make everything worse.'

'It will be all fine and dandy!' Rory smiled. We stared at him, confused.

'What?' Lauren laughed.

'I mean, it will be okay. It won't get worse.' He laughed.

'Ohhh…Thanks Rory. Anywaaaay... What did you pick me up Sof?'

'A fruit salad and a pack of mini cookies.' I slid them over to her.

'Nice, thanks Sof.'

'And I got you a grape Slushie.' Rory carefully handed it to her.

'My favourite!' She giggled, taking a large gulp of it. 'BRAIN FREEEEEZE!' She shivered.

Her grimacing about the drink gave me the chance to stand up with my still full tray, taking it out of her view. 'I'm just gonna go dump my trash in the garbage can.'

'Ok Sofia!' Lauren recovered from her pain, and Rory looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.

'I'll be back, don't worry. I know you all love me so much.' I smirked.

As I made my way back to my seat, I heard my cell beep. I took it from my bag to check it, Lauren and Rory both looking eagerly at me. 'You two are so nosy!' I smiled at them as I entered my phone's password.

'_Sofia, get your butt to the locker room. We're waiting for you.' _Shit! I forgot that Santana ordered an emergency meeting for 15 minutes ago. Only Santana be so terrifying through a text.

'I've got to go; Cheerios meeting. I'll see ya in class.'

I jogged through the school, bursting through the locker room door, to be met with an furious glare by Santana, a disappointed look from Brittany, and scared looks on everyone else's faces.

'Sit.' Santana pointed to the bench in front of her.

'I'm fine; I can sta-'

'I said SIT.' I looked at her, seeing the fiery look in her eyes.

'Uh... O-ok.' I decided to obey; I know what Santana's capable of.

'What you did was unacceptable. I can't believe you would Slushie a not only innocent, but small freshman! A new one as well!'

'A mass Slushie was even worse. I don't know if I should be telling you all this, but I think you should know after this morning.' Brittany glared at every one of us separately.

'It does NOT leave this room. If it does, I will ensure that you are off the team.'

'Lexie's father has cancer, and he's dying. So that girl is also very vulnerable at the moment.' Small gasps filtered though the group. I actually feel so bad about setting it up now.

'Whose idea was this? Chrissy?' She glared at a relatively new member, who squirmed, petrified.

'I-I-I d-don't...' She stammered, trying to cover for me.

'DON'T LIE TO ME!' Santana blew up, making tears appear in Chrissy's eyes. Poor girl. Dammit, I have to speak up. I can't sit here watching this.

'It was me. I ordered them to Slushie Lexie.' I stared at the floor, not daring myself to meet Santana's eyes.

'Thank you Sofia.' Brittany spoke in a dangerously calm voice.

Santana's POV

'Yes. The rest of you, I am so not happy with your actions today. I found Lexie, and sorted her out; not 5 hours ago, she was sitting on one of these benches, pouring her heart out. And she was shivering like crazy, and was still cold a few minutes ago when B and I went to talk to her.' I watched them, as they nervously waited for what we were going to say next.

'All of you will go outside, and do 10 laps.' They all groaned. 'Sofia, stay here.'

'Coach is waiting for you. GO!' Getting Ms Sylvester to agree to this was easy. After we told her about Lexie's problems, she was as angry as we were. If not, more so. But that's not possible.

I turned back to Brittany's cousin. 'Why?' I simply looked at her, with an even expression. She shrugged. I looked at B.

'Sof, there must be a reason.' Brittany sat next to her, taking a hand within her own. She mumbled something quietly.

'Sofia, I am not going to go all Lima Heights on you. You're Brittany's cousin. I care about you.' I sat on the other side.

'Rachel.' She finally whispered.

'Rachel?' Brittany looked at me, with one eyebrow quirked. 'Why did she tell you to hurt Lexie?'

'And why did you listen to man-hands?' I tried to ask without sounding too angry at Sofia.

'I don't know exactly why; you know what she's like. She just told me that she wants Lexie to be mass slushied. I think she's jealous of all the attention Finn's been giving his cousin.'

'Why did you go through with it?' B frowned. 'Was it because of what you told me the other night?' Sofia nodded.

'That, and because I just generally find her annoying.'

'In what way?' B carried on frowning.

'She… just is. And she's taking my best friend away from me. It's not fair.'

'I understand, but that wasn't the right thing to do.'

'I know. But don't tell Aunt Hillary, please!' She looked at me.

'Britt and I will discuss that.'

'Go and do your laps.'

'Yes Ma'am.' Sofia hissed sarcastically as she stood up.

'Add 5 more laps on that Sofia Pierce-Smith!' Santana admonished angrily.

'Um, ok.' She gulped, having the sense to be serious this time.

'Lexie reminds Sofia of her twin.' Brittany whispered, telling me without me asking.

'That must be hard for her.' I slid next to her, and held her hand.

'I think it is; it was 2 years on Tuesday since she died.' She squeezed my hand tighter. 'She seems to be taking it well.'

'Apart from today.' Brittany snorted at me adorably. 'Are you going to tell your Mom?'

'I think so. She should know about it.'

'Ok. Do you want me to be there?'

'It might make it easier. She loves you being around anyway.' She stood up, kissing me on the cheek. 'Come on babe, let's go meet Coach.'

'As long as I'm with you B, as long as I'm with you.' I held the door open for her.

'What song are you singing this afternoon?'

'You'll find out Britt, when I sing it.'

'Sanny! Tell me!' She whined, with a gorgeous smile.

'No! It's a surprise.'

'I can't wait.' She smiled as we walked to the field.

Lauren's POV

When I got to Glee I sat next to Sofia, waiting for Mr. Schue to come in. 'I've got a date tonight.' Sof suddenly whispered in my ear.

'Really? Where are you going?'

'I don't know; he's surprising me!'

'Oh my gosh I'm so excited for you!' I hugged her. 'What are you gonna wear? Who is it?'

'Hush guys, Mr. Schuester's here.' Rachel whispered to us.

'Guys! Who's ready? Santana?' He glanced at her.

'Yup, I'm there!' She jumped up, winking at Brittany as she walked up the stairs.

'So, last year, we had an assignment to do a song from the Fleetwood Mac album 'Rumors'. I found the perfect song to sing to Brittany, but I hadn't come out to you all at that point, so I sang it to her privately.' She paused, looking at Brittany, who was starting to smile lovingly. 'I now feel comfortable enough to sing it in front of you. Brittany, can you come up here please sweetie?' Brittany squealed excitedly, running up the stage.

'This is so cute!' Sofia leaned to me.

'I know right! They're so perfect for each other.' She nodded at me as Santana started talking again.

'It's called 'Songbird'. Even though it's for Britt, it's slightly for you guys as well, because I love you all, we're family.' She smiled softly at us, before turning back to Brittany.

Blaine's POV

My Dad picked me up from school, and headed to McKinley.

'Mom, why did you pick me up? What's going on?' I asked when Dad was in the gas station after filling the tank.

'I spoke to him today, about last night.'

'Oh. What happened?'

'He was apologetic, as usual, promised that he would try to stop hurting you and Lauren, and then decided to take us all for dinner.'

'The usual then…' We stopped talking as Dad opened the door again.

'What were you two talking about then?' He smiled at us. How long will the niceness last this time?

'I was just asking Blaine to go and find his sister when we get to her school.'

'Will you Blaine?' He looked at me kindly. I decided to just go along with his 'perfect family' thing for now.

'Of course I will, Dad. After all, Mom asked me ever so nicely.' I saw his eyes narrow. Just a tiny bit. 'And she's my mother, I should never disobey her.' I don't mind listening to _her._She's the nice one.

'That's the right attitude son.' So now I'm his son?

Once we pulled up to the school, I quickly jumped out of the car. 'Be back soon Blaine!'

'I will Dad, don't worry.' I waved at them, to let them know I was ok, and then walked into the front doors. I'm pretty sure they all have Glee right now, so I headed to the choir room. I met Kurt there enough times to know where it is. However, once I got there, no one was around. What on earth? Maybe they're all at the auditorium. I slowly made my way there, hoping not to get lost. I've only been there a couple of times.

When I got there, Tina was just coming off the stage. I started to quietly edge my way down to get Lauren, when she stood up and headed to the stage, it must be her turn to sing. I decided to wait for her to finish, Dad won't mind if we take a few minutes. He's in a good mood. She began to sing, I knew the song immediately. Lauren has played it so many times in her room when she thought none was listening. I could see her begin to get emotional, and I wanted to go comfort her, when I felt someone stand behind me. I turned to see Dad. He glanced at me, but he was mostly watching Lauren, looking intrigued. He silently sat down in the closest seat, and I stood next to him. Whenever he hears Laur sing it always seems to effect him, I think that's why he doesn't do it that much. I watched Lauren sing, beginning to get a lump in my throat.

_Oh I can be manipulated, only so many times__  
><em>_Before even "I love you", starts to sound like a lie___

_You have a hollowed out heart but it's heavy in your chest__  
><em>_I try so hard to fight it but it's hopeless__  
><em>_Hopeless (Hopeless) __  
><em>_You're hopeless___

_Oh father__  
><em>_Please father__  
><em>_I'd love to leave you alone but I can't let you go__  
><em>_Oh father__  
><em>_Please father__  
><em>_Put the bottle down for the love of a daughter___

_Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?__  
><em>_How could you push me out of your world?__  
><em>_Lied to your flesh and your blood__  
><em>_Put your hands on the ones that you swore you loved__  
><em>_Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?__  
><em>_How could you throw me right out of your world?__  
><em>_So young when the pain had begun__  
><em>_Now forever afraid of being alone_

Tears started to slide down her face, but she carried on singing. Dad was staring at her, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. As she reached the end of the song she caught my eye and ran off the stage into my arms. The rest of the Glee club looked back in shock. Dad looked at us with an expression I couldn't read, but it didn't look like one that could help me and my baby sister.


	10. Chapter 10

***Quick note: Yes in our version its Riker not Jeff. Mainly because I prefer it :D* **

Lauren's POV

I looked up from Blaine's arms, to glance at Dad. Through blurry eyes, he didn't look too happy about the fact that I might have outed our 'situation', and I was scared he was going to do something in front of the Glee club. Luckily he didn't. Instead, he gently pulled me away from Blaine, and hugged me. I tried to pull away but his hold was too tight, using his thumb he started to wipe away my tears. With a strained voice, he turned to Blaine, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear on purpose.

'She really does like Demi Lovato, doesn't she? It always makes her emotional; just wish she would sing songs that wouldn't make me sound bad. I'm not, am I?' He pretended to joke pushing Blaine in a jokey way.

'Of course not Dad!' Blaine put on his showface. I was released from the force hug.

'C'mon sweetheart, let's go. I've got a surprise for you!' He took my hand, leading me out of the school.

Sofia's POV

As soon as Lauren left, everyone started gossiping about what happened. Me and Rory couldn't stand it; we had to get out. If we didn't, people would have started asking questions. Or I would have shut them up myself – which wouldn't be a good idea, considering that I was in trouble with Brittany and Santana already. We made our excuses and left, slowly walking, hand in hand.

'I have a surprise for you.' Rory winked.

'Oooh? What?' He span me round, sitting me on a bench outside.

'Wait here.' He kissed me on the cheek, before walking off. 'I'll be a minute.'

A minute later, a red car pulled around the corner, kinda shakily, being driven by Rory. 'RORY! Oh my gosh, Rory! You can drive!' I stood up quickly.

'Jump in Sof, I got my license a couple days ago.' I slid into the car next to him, and kissed him, before breaking away.

'Wait! I'm still in my cheerleading uniform!'

'Good!' He bashfully smiled. 'I like you in that.'

'Well, it's a good thing then!' I giggled.

He drove me to a small restaurant half an hour away from Lima, which looked really cool and old-school. Really diner like. 'Here we are my dear.' He walked me in, and we were greeted by the waitress.

'Hi, how many?' She smiled.

'Just two.' Rory answered.

'Ok, follow me.' She walked us to a seat in the corner, handing us a menu each. 'Can I get you some drinks?'

'Can I just have a mineral water please?' I asked, and she nodded, before looking at Rory.

'I'll have a coke.' He ordered, and then shot me a worried glance.

'I'm fine.' I gave him a reassuring smile. 'So, what's the plan for tonight?'

'I was thinking… We grab something here, and then go to the movies. Sound ok?'

'That sounds perfect.' I looked over the menu. 'How about we get the sharing platter?'

'Good idea. I wasn't sure what to get.' Perfect. It meant that I didn't have to eat so much.

Lauren's POV

Dad took us to the mall to get us some new stuff. This was a definite highlight of the 'niceness' stage he goes through every few months, it's like sympathy shopping. I defiantly make the most of it. The abuse stops for a bit too, which is awesome, but that doesn't last long enough. He bought me a new iPod. Mine broke the other day, well I say broke; it had an incident with a wall and got smashed… He bought Blaine a new guitar! He was stoked.

We then drove to this diner, I recognized it immediately. Cooper used to drive Blaine and me here every Saturday morning for breakfast, which was awesome, but then he moved to L.A. We swore we would keep it up when Blaine could drive, but then I got ill, so it got too hard.

Dad's happy, because we're being served by his favorite waitress, whom he knows from church – she's a local trophy wife, of sorts.

Once we got seated, I realized that Sofia was in here, still in her Cheerios' outfit. I wouldn't have noticed if she had changed. I know she didn't want to tell me who she was going out with, but I had to see. I strained my neck a bit to see, Rory! They are perfect for each other; they're lucky. I saw that they had a sharing meal, and watching them, I noticed that she wasn't eating much. She didn't eat her lunch either – she thinks she hid it from me, but I knew. She used one of the same tricks I used when I was ill.

Mom and Dad were talking as we ate, I was starting to push my food around a bit – I got a text. 'Lauren, who is that?' Dad asked, becoming slightly stern. He has an issue with phones at meals.

'It's Quinn!' I answered, surprised.

'Oh, ok.' He smiled, not asking me to put away my phone. He likes Quinn. When we were younger, he considered her a good role model, so it was a good thing that we were friends. I would always sit with her at church; it was good to have someone to talk to. Even after she had Beth, he liked that she stayed religious and done talks about celibacy and what not.

'_Hey Lauren. We should meet up and chat. We haven't done that in a while. Q x'_

'_I would like that, thanks :D x'_

'_How about after church on Sun? We could go to the Lima Bean before the Glee meeting x'_

'_That sounds good :) x'_I put my phone away and looked at my dad.

'Dad, can I hang out with Quinn after church please? There's a glee meeting over lunch anyway.'

'Of course you can!' He grinned happily. 'Oh, that reminds me. How are you getting to church after sleeping round Sofia's?'

'I don't know. I haven't thought about it.'

'Well, if you can't get to church, then you can't sleep round.' What? That's so not fair! But I guess he has a point…

'Ok Dad, I'll find a way of getting there.'

'Good girl.' He smiled.

'_Quinn, are you sleeping round Brittany's tomorrow? X'_I decided to give it a shot.

'_No, what's up? X'_

'_My dad says that I can't sleep round with Sofia if I can't get to church x'_

'_I'll pick you up x'_Well, that was easy…

'Quinn said she'll take me to church on Sunday, so can I still sleep round?' I asked him as he ate dessert.

'Yes you can.' He put his spoon down. 'Now, I have some good news for you both.' He paused, glancing between me and Blaine. 'I had a call from Cooper today. He's coming to visit in a couple weeks.' YES! This is gonna be awesome!

'Really! I can't wait!' Blaine said, surprised. I looked over at him and he had big excited eyes. He's such a puppy.

Sofia's POV

After we had finished eating, we began to walk out, when I saw Lauren and her family. 'Rory! Psst, Rory…' I grabbed him before we were seen. 'Lauren's here. She doesn't know about us.'

'How are we gonna get out?' His eyes widened.

'Follow my lead.' I covered my face with one hand, making my way through the other side of the restaurant.

Once we got out, we both burst out laughing. 'We should tell her Sofia.'

'I know. I think I will tomorrow at my house.' I nodded to myself, and then shrieked as Rory started chasing me to the car. 'RORY! Stop it! Hahaha!' I whined playfully. Just as we got to the car he kissed me softly.

'Get in, my fair maiden.' He bowed, opening the car door for me.

'Weirdo.' I raised an eyebrow.

'Why thank you.' He smirked as he slid into the driving seat.

'Where are we going now?'

'We're going to a local movie theatre. It's small, but nice. They do a viewing of an older movie every Friday. Sometimes, they are real old-school… like… Black and white. Other times, like tonight, they are only a couple years old.'

'What are we watching then?'

'The Notebook.' He glanced at me, smiling.

'Oh my gosh I love that movie! I hope you have tissues.' Great. Now I have to watch a movie that makes me cry… In front of my new boyfriend.

Santana's POV

I sat in front of Brittany's mom, with a mug of hot chocolate in my hands. She looked at us with a concerned expression.

'So what did you girls want to talk about?'

'We wanted to discuss with you something that happened today.' I answered.

'Sanny, Mom doesn't like you being too serious, remember?' Brittany gave me a pointed look.

'Sorry Britty.' I pouted at her, and she grinned at me. She loves it when I call her 'Britty'.

'Anyway…' Hillary got our attention, waving her hand at us. B took my cell phone, unlocking it.

'Ya know how I invited Finn's cousin to be on 'Fondue For Two' this weekend?'

'Yes…'

'Well, here is a picture of her earlier today.' Brittany found the photo, handing my phone to Hillary.

'What happened?' She gasped.

'About 20 Cheerios slushied her.' I explained simply. B's mom looked at us suspiciously.

'It wasn't us Mom; it was Sofia.'

'She ordered them to do it.'

'And then, when we gave her exactly the same punishment as the rest of them, she gave me attitude.'

'We gave her more laps.' I finished.

'Thank you for telling me girls. Where is Sofia anyway? I will have to talk to her about this.'

'She's out with Rory.' Brittany grinned.

'Oh, ok. Is Finn's cousin sleeping round tomorrow?' Hillary looked at me.

'No, she text me a couple hours ago saying that she's not allowed. I will have to take her home afterwards.'

'That's a shame.' She stood up. 'Girls, can you set the table please? Looks like it's only the 3 of us tonight.'

'Ok Mom, we will do. Come on Sanny, let's go.'

'Can I at least have my phone back?' I made a grab for it in B's hands.

'No! Set the table!'

'Pwetty pwease Bwitty?' I made the puppy dog face look.

'Fine! You know I can't resist that face and voice.' She pouted, handing me my cell as we went to the kitchen.

Lauren's POV

'Hey guys!' I climbed into Burt's truck, next to Finn. Kurt had picked up Blaine an hour ago so they could meet up with the rest of the Warblers get to sectionals for last minute practice.

As I settled down Finn glanced. 'How was everything, you know…after Glee last night?' Finn asked, sweetly. Burt and Carole shared a suspicious look.

'It was good, surprisingly. Dad took Blaine and me to the mall, and then we went for a meal. How was your night?' The Hummel-Hudson's, Lexie, Tom, and Tom and Carole's Dad went to BreadstiX to remember the 9 years since Lexie's mom died.

'It was good… Emotional though. It was good to see Gramps.' Finn smiled.

'How was Lex?' I looked at Carole.

'She was very clingy to Tom and our Dad.' She answered sadly. 'Next weekend, Tom wants to go look at hospices, but without her. I don't know how he's going to do that.' She sighed.

'How do you think the Warblers are gonna do?' Finn asked, trying to lighten the mood.

'They're gonna rock it. I just know it.' I laughed.

Once we got to the theatre, we made our way backstage. Some of the Warblers were milling around, chatting to their families or each other, some were going over choreography. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. 'There is my beautiful sister!'

'Blaine!' I span round and hugged him. 'I'm so excited to see you perform!'

'Really? I'm so glad Dad let you come.' Suddenly, the lights flashed. 'I've got to go. See you later.'

'Good luck Blaine, you'll do great!' I called at him as he walked away, and then waved at Kurt. Straight after Kurt went in, there was a cute blonde boy. He must be new, I haven't seen him before.

'Lauren? Are you ready? We have to go to our seats now.' Finn frowned at me.

'What? Yeah, sorry Finn, I'm coming.'

'Welcome to West Ohio Show Choir Sectional's 2012!' The announcer spoke in a really annoying voice. He talked about some local 'celebrities' who were the judges, and the sponsors. I looked through the program as he spoke, and realized that Blaine was against Oral Intensity, who was a big competition for ND at one point.

I looked at the list of Warbler members, and smiled when Kurt and Blaine were the top 2 listed. I couldn't work out what the blonde boy was called; there are too many members!

'…First up, from Dalton Academy, we have the Warblers!' The lights went up, with one spotlight focused straight on Blaine. All 4 of us cheered as he began to sing a ballad, and I even became a little emotional. As he sung, I couldn't help notice the blonde boy dance; he was really good!

After Blaine's song, there was a group number, where Kurt was lead, which was really cool for him; he so talented!

After the other groups sung – Oral Intensity was good but they had nothing on the Warblers! After a little break, the judges had deliberated and everyone was called on stage. Blaine smiled at me, looking kinda nervous, but excited about the results.

After saying that the other choir came last, the presenter had us on the edge of our seats. 'West Ohio Show Choir Sectional's champions 2012 are... From Dalton Academy, The Warblers!'

Burt, Carole, Finn and I all jumped up and cheered, as all of the Warblers jumped around and hugged and ran off stage after taking the trophy. Once we all picked up our stuff, we went to meet Blaine and Kurt backstage again, along with the rest of the Warblers' families.

'Blaine, you were amazing!' I hugged him as soon as he came over to us. 'You too Kurt.' I said hugging him too.

'I'm so proud of you guys! You deserved that trophy, you really did.' Burt took them both in a bear hug.

'Um, Blaine, who is that, is he new?' I pointed to the blonde boy. 'He looks nice.' Blaine raised his eyebrow at me. 'What? I'm curious!'

'Yeah, curious…' I hit him on the arm, he knows me too well. 'Ouch! He joined in September. Come on, I'll introduce you. As you're that curious.'

'Hey Blaine. What up?' He glanced at me while talking, smiling at me.

'Hey! I just wanted you to meet my little sister.'

'Riker.' He extended his hand towards me. 'Nice to meet you'

'You too. Lauren.' I shook his hand. It was really soft… I think he's been taking tips from Kurt.

'I'll leave you two to it.' Blaine walked off, leaving us alone. Elbowing my stomach as he left. Riker noticed and laughed. Great.

'Umm, you were great out there. Congratulations.'

'Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was kinda nervous, you know, because it was my first competition here.' He played with a bracelet on his wrist.

'You were really good, you're an amazing dancer by the way' He grinned at me, laughing a little. 'Thank you. So, are you interested in Show Choir then? Or are you just here to support your brother?'

'A bit of both actually; I'm part of the choir in McKinley. Just transferred there actually.'

'Ahh, The New Directions.' He smirked. 'I like your top.'

'Haha thanks! Kurt made it for me for Christmas.' It was black, with the Dalton blazer on it; the tie was also on it. Even the white of the shirt was edged on to it, but not filled in. I was wearing that with black skinny jeans and my red Converse. 'I might have get him to make me one! It's awesome!'

'Lauren, we have to go to pick up Lexie.' Finn interrupted us.

'Uh, ok Finn. It was good talking to you.' I looked at Riker again, taking in his adorableness.

'You too. Can I…get your number?'

'Yeahh sure.' After we gave each other our number, I got Finn to take a picture of us. I put it as his caller ID.

'I'll call you.' He hugged me and pecked me on the cheek.

'Looking forward to it.' I blushed, as Finn gently pulled me away. 'Finn!'

'I'm sorry dude, but we've got to go.'

I was still grinning to myself giddily as we got to the car. 'Lauren, who was that sweetie?' Carole asked as we climbed back into the truck. The Warblers were going out for some sort of celebration.

'One of the Warblers. He's called Riker.'

'That's an unusual name. He looked sweet. Anyway, can you text Lexie saying that we're on our way.'

'I know! It's cute though.' I paused. 'Of course I will.'

'I'm going in to sort out some stuff with Tom.' Carole turned back.

'Have a good night Lauren, and I'll see you tonight Finn.' Carole got out, going to let Lexie know we're here at the same time.

'Hey guys!' Lexie sat in the front, where Carole was, wearing a purple sun dress.

'How's your day been Lexie?' Burt asked as he started the engine again.

'It's been great! We played some board games, and then went to the mall.'

'Don't you have anything for tonight?' I asked her, confused.

'Um, I'm not allowed to sleep over, because I got in trouble at school. Santana's gonna take me home after the show.'

'Oh, ok. That sucks. You're gonna like it round Britt and Sofia's house. Brittany's mom is really nice.'

'I'm looking forward to spending time with Santana. And Brittany; they're both really cool. Santana's been texting me all day, asking whether Britt can ask me about certain topics during the webshow.' Finn and I shared a look, knowing what Brittany can be like. At least Santana would be there to kinda deflect anything she asks and I'll be there too.

Lexie's POV

As soon as Lauren and I got out of Burt's truck, Brittany came bouncing out of her house. 'Hey Lauren.' She hugged her and pushed her into the house, before turning back to me. 'C'mon Lexie, let's go.' She grabbed my hand, pulling me inside.

'Hey kiddo!' Santana hugged me, leading me into Brittany's room.

'So, I was thinking we start early, so we can do whatever editing that needs to be done first.' Brittany sat down.

'Are you sure you wanna go through with this Lexie?' I nodded at Santana as the door opened.

'I assume you're Lexie?' I nodded at the woman. 'I'm Brittany's mom, Hillary. Is pizza alright with you guys?'

'Sound's good.' Santana laughed at the same time as Brittany, and I nodded.

'Pizza it is then. I'll order it when the show's finished.'

'Thanks Mom!'

'She's really supportive.' Santana explained as Hillary left the room.

Lauren's POV

Me and Sofia went to her room, trying to be quiet so the others could start filming 'Fondue For Two'. As we got to her room, I got a text.

'_Hey, it's Riker. Just checking I got the right number :D'_

'_Hey! Yup, you did :D shouldn't you be celebrating?'_

'_I am... I just couldn't stop thinking about you x'_

I... What? Did he really just say he couldn't stop thinking about me? I must have been staring at my phone for a long time because Sofia grabbed it off me.

'What are you staring at Laur? Who's Riker? Has little Laurie got herself a boyfriend?' She teased.

'Huh? No, well, not yet... Anyway, give me my phone back'

'Ooohhhh... He's cute...' I tried to grab my phone off her but she moved away.

'Sof, give it back.' I tried to grab it again. 'Nope, I wanna find out more about this Riker guy.'

I ended up chasing her around her room for my phone. Laughing and screaming, I eventually managed to pin her down and get my phone off her, which was strange as she is stronger than me.

'HEY GUYS DO YOU THINK YOU COULD SHUT YOUR TRAPHOLES? WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE A WEB SHOW IN HERE!' Santana shouted from across the corridor.

'Sorry!' We shouted back together. I replied to Riker's message once I had my phone back.

'_Really? I don't know what to say. I couldn't stop thinking about you either :D x'_

'Ok, so tell me about Riker.'

'There's really not much to tell.'

'Come on! He must mean something; he said he couldn't stop thinking about you Laur.' Does he mean anything to me? My phone buzzed again.

'_Really. :) x'_

'_No one has ever said that to me before. X'_

'_Well there is a first for everything :) x'_

'OK, this guy DEFINATELY means something.' Sofia said, reading over my shoulder.

'Yeah, I guess he does...' I said while looking at my phone. 'He's new to Dalton, just joined The Warblers. I met him today after Sectionals, he seemed sweet. I only got to talk to him for a couple of minutes. Happy?'

'Yup! Talking about boys, I think it's about time I told you who my BF is...' Even though I already knew it was Rory, I decided to play along.

"Ooohhhh! So I finally get to find out who this secret boyfriend of yours is!" I said poking her in the stomach.

'Ouch! Yes. It's someone close to you, very close to you... It's Rory' I started laughing. I couldn't help myself, she sounded so serious.

'Ok, I tried, but you sounded so serious. I already knew it was Rory; I saw you two at that diner yesterday!' Her face was a picture!

'There is no hiding from you is there? Well, now that that's done... IT'S MOVIE TIME!' She jumped up, running to her movie collection. 'What do you wanna watch?'

Lexie's POV

When we were recording Fondue For Two, Brittany asked me about my life... And about my mom. Even though I knew she was gonna ask me, it was still sad. When I started crying, Santana grabbed my hand to comfort me.

'So, let's take a break to watch Lord Tubbington's first Vlog.' Brittany said, before pausing the camera. 'I'll edit it in later. Lexie, are you ok? Do you wanna stop?' I shook my head. I have to finish the interview.  
>'Are you sure sweetie? We don't have to continue.' Santana rubbed my back. 'Remember she's gonna ask about your dad next.'<br>'I wanna finish it.' I murmured.  
>'Ok. Britt, the camera.'<br>'So, something happened this week that changed your life...'

As I was talking, I became more and more upset, and I could just about make out Santana frowning through my tears. She suddenly put her arms around me, and I cried into her neck wrapping my arms around her. 'Do you wanna talk some more?' I shook my head against Santana's shoulder, and Brittany paused the camera again.  
>'Do you want the show to go on air? Coz it doesn't have to.' she said after I calmed down a little.<br>'No, put it on.' I whispered.  
>'Ok.' she turned the camera a little, so it was just showing her, and then turned it back on. 'Guys, Sanny and I have spoken to Lexie, and she is happy for this to be shown. It does get a little sad at times though.'<br>'I'll put that at the beginning.' she explained after she turned the camera off.  
>'Britts, we better start editing now.'<p>

Sofia's POV

I really don't want to eat any pizza; just the smell of it makes me queasy. The greasy, fatty aroma, I've worked so hard to lose the weight I can't give up now! I can't avoid it though everyone's going to be watching me and Lauren to make sure she eats properly. Ironic isn't it? If Laur didn't have an eating disorder, I could get away with it, not that I'm anywhere near getting an eating disorder; it's just a change of eating habits. Part of me just hopes that they concentrate so much on her that they don't even notice how much I'm eating. Anyway, I'm the 'greedy cheerio.'

If I don't lose the weight in time, I'll be kicked off the Cheerio's, lose my superiority in the halls of McKinley and I'd be on the receiving end of all the slushies that I would have previously given out.

'Food's here. Let's go Sof, it'll be cold otherwise.'

'I'll come in a little bit. I'm not really hungry right now.' She raised an eyebrow at me.

'Sofia, you have to eat something, come on. You love Pizza' She whined, trying to pull me up.

'So it was alright when you didn't eat! When you just sat there pushing food around your plate!' I snapped my sudden outburst even shocking myself.

'That was really out of order Sofia. I can't believe you would say that. You know what I was going through. I was ill you know that!' Tears started welling in her eyes.

'No no no Lauren, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it; it's been a bad week, lots of things have happened.' I started panicking as she sat back down.

'I know you didn't mean it, but that really hurt.' I threw my arms around her.

'I know, that was a stupid thing to say. Shit I'm such a bitch I can't even be nice to my own best friend! I love you Lauren, I would never say something like that to hurt you.' She hugged me back, and then pushed me away, looking serious.

'I'm worried Sofia, I saw how much you threw away of your lunch yesterday and then you left most of the food for Rory at your date. Now you don't want pizza, c'mon you love pizza Sof; you can't even lie about that. I can't let you go down the same path as I did, I don't want to lose my best friend to some silly disorder like I lost myself.'

'I won't.' I bit my lip, contemplating whether to go on or not. 'I'm just losing a couple of pounds for Coach Sylvester; she said I could be point flyer if I did and you know what that would mean to me.'

'Just…don't go overboard.' She didn't look convinced but I pushed it to the back of my mind.

'I won't Laur, I promise, let's get some pizza!' I stood up, ready to face everyone.


	11. Chapter 11

**I know I haven't updated in like forever, I'm sorry! School is crazy ATM!**

Santana's POV  
>20 minutes after we put the show on air, it had loads of views, and Brittany was stoked. We had been texted by the glee club a load of times – it was getting annoying. Lexie was curled up to me on B's bed as we watched mindless TV… she hasn't left my side since the recording.<br>'Girls! The pizza's here!' Hillary called from downstairs. Lexie pouted straight away.  
>'What's wrong?' I laughed nicely, poking her arm.<br>'After dinner, I have to go home. I don't wanna go home, I'm having fun!'  
>'Mom?' Brittany ran downstairs, calling her. 'I have an idea.' We followed her, wanting to know what's going on.<br>'That's a good idea honey.' She turned to Lexie, handing her the house phone.  
>'Lexie, dial your Dad's number for me. I'm gonna call him to see if you can sleep round.'<br>'Really?' Her eyes went wide. 'Thanks!' Hillary smiled, walking away to call him.

'Your Dad wants to talk to you.' She came back a few minutes later.  
>'Hey Daddy.' Brittany smiled at me. 'Yes Daddy. Of course I'll be good.' Lexie rolled her eyes. 'Awesome, see you tomorrow. Love you too, bye.' She hung up.<br>'So, the plan is, you're going to borrow some of Brittany's old clothes for tonight and tomorrow, and then you'll go home after the Glee meeting.' Hillary explained. 'I'll go get some clothes now. What size is Lexie?'  
>'Um, I would say 6, because Lexie's small, so aged 12 maybe?'<br>'Yeah, I was thinking that too. I'll get some of each. Go and sit down at the table.'  
>'Kay. Lex, come sit down. Where do you wanna sit?'<br>'With you.' She whispered, suddenly sounding like a lost puppy. I sat down next to her, waiting for everyone else to turn up, and B sat on the other side of her.

Sofia and Lauren came into the dining room, both looking unsure, Sofia looking really guilty. She was trying to hide it, but B and I could tell. 'Sup guys?' I smiled as they sat down, B getting up to go to the kitchen.  
>'Sofia told me about her boyfriend.' Lauren smirked; obviously Sof didn't want everyone to know that.<br>'Ooh, who is it?' I leant forward slightly.  
>'You'll find out on Monday.' Sofia went totally red. I glanced at Lexie, who was squirming a little.<br>'You know don't you, c'mon, spill!'  
>'No, Sofia will tell you on Monday.' She smiled nervously at Sofia, who chuckled at the expression.<br>'Fine.' I scowled jokingly.  
>'Here's the food, guys.' Britt got the pizza and some plates from the kitchen.<br>'I'll get us some soda.' Sofia stood up, coming back with a big bottle of coke, some cups, and a glass of water for herself.  
>'Sof, you don't like water.' Brittany observed, not meaning anything by it.<br>'Not usually, but I fancy it.' She shrugged.  
>'Ohh...Ok.' Britt smiled, going back to handing out the plates.<p>

Sofia's POV  
>Well that was a close call. If Brittany started asking too many questions, she would know something was up and then her and Santana would try and find out what's wrong… not good.<br>'So, it's nearly Christmas… Are you excited?' Brittany grinned. The rest of us looked at each other, confused.  
>'Britt, babe, it's January. Christmas was last month, remember? We went to that homeless shelter with the Glee lot.' Santana smirked.<br>'Oh yeah! That was awesome. But I wish it was Christmas again, that'll be cool.' B frowned.  
>'Yeah, it is awesome.' I nodded.<br>'Sofia, you should invite Rory around sometime this week. I miss seeing him around.' Aunt Hillary suddenly appeared. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks… 'Maybe invite his family. I've only met his mother. Lovely woman…' She walked off, practically talking to herself. She's definitely Britt's mom.

I'm in a parallel universe. I swear I am. That's the only explanation. Lexie's getting lectured about not eating enough; not me, and not even Lauren, but Lexie. How weird is that?  
>'Lex, you have to eat something.' Santana frowned.<br>'I'm not really hungry.'  
>'Just one slice Alex, that's all you have to eat.'<br>'You're like a mom… Like, Mama Tana.' Lexie laughed. Santana looked a little worried at that, but then smiled when she realized that Lex wasn't saying it sadly or whatever.  
>'That means you have to listen to me.' Santana smirked.<br>'Damn, that's true.' Lexie smirked jokingly as she picked up her piece of pizza.  
>'Guys, you should have another bit too.' Brittany noticed mine and Lauren's empty plates. We looked at each other.<br>'Um, actually, we're finished.' Lauren stammered. I nodded, agreeing with her point.  
>'Lauren, need to have more than just one slice of pizza, And I know fully well what Ms. Sylvester said to you Sofia, you're going to have more than one slice too, because you're not going to lose more than you need.' Brittany scolded us… She's smart about things she cares about, or at least knows what to say.<br>'But… Lexie only has to eat one slice, why do we have to eat more?' B shot me a dangerous look.  
>'Because Lexie has stuff going on right now, and is sad; you know that. And she's small, so she doesn't have to eat as much.' See, she's smart about these things. Like… Cat diseases.<p>

Lauren's POV  
>Well that was awkward. Brittany made a good point though...<br>We all kinda looked at each other uncomfortably, waiting for someone to say something. It was Santana who spoke first.  
>'Guys, shall we do something after dinner, like play on the Wii or something?'<br>'Good idea Sanny, we could play that party game we have!' Brittany clapped her hands together excitedly.  
>'It's only a four player game. There's five of us.' Sofia scowled. She's in a bad mood, I hope that doesn't last, she's no fun otherwise.<br>'That doesn't matter… Lex, have you played Wii before?' Santana asked.  
>'A little, my friends back in NJ had one, but we would only play the Just Dance games, so I don't know much.' She shrugged.<br>'Then you can pair with me.' San smiled, and then turned to Sofia. 'Sorted, now there are 3 players and one pair.' She smirked. 'That's all four remotes used.'  
>'Fine.' Sofia scoffed.<p>

After dinner, we all made our way to the living room, and Sofia and Brittany started setting up the game. I sat in one armchair, while Santana sat on the other. 'Sit on my lap.' She pulled Lexie on top of her.  
>'Kay.' Lex smiled happily. I'm glad she's got someone who's older than her that she's close to. We're close, but I'm not exactly a good role model. I have my own problems, ones she doesn't need to worry about. One being that I'm not meant to date until I'm at least 18. Oh well.<br>'Hey, here's your remote.' Sofia grinned as she handed it to me, sitting on the arm of the chair, and tucking her feet underneath my legs. Brittany sat in front of Santana and Lexie, on the floor.  
>'So, guys, what do you wanna do?' She looked at us.<br>'Britt, let's do the board game one. That's fun.' Sofia suggested. She's in a good mood again, thank goodness.  
>'Oh, guys, I forgot to say, Quinn's picking me up to go church in the morning.'<br>'Why are you going church? You hate going church.' Sofia frowned.  
>'I have to; my dad said I couldn't come here tonight if I didn't get to church tomorrow.' I shrugged. It's not that much of a big deal.<br>'Okaaay… Anyway, let's play!' She laughed while aiming her remote at the television.

'Oh my gosh! Yes!' Sofia squealed. 'I won!' By this point, she was pretty much sitting on top me, hanging her legs over the arm of the chair.  
>'That's so not fair!' I poked my tongue out at her while laughing.<br>'Hahaha! So, what do you guys wanna do next?' She asked as she rolled off of me and the chair to sort out the Wii.  
>'Wanna watch a movie?' Santana suggested. Lexie nodded happily - I think she would have whatever Santana said though…<br>'Sounds cool.' I smiled.  
>'Let's watch 'Orphan'!' Sofia's eyes lit up.<br>'No, that film gives me the heebie-jeebies.' Santana shuddered.  
>'Fine, what about 'The Strangers'?'<br>'That's an awesome film!' I grinned… although I have a bad feeling about this…  
>'Lexie, here's your pyjamas for tonight sweetie.' Hillary placed light blue pjs on the couch… with cats on; naturally, I mean they are Britt's.<br>'Thank you' Lex took them shyly.  
>'Guys, can we get in our pjs now? We can be comfortable when watching the movie then.' Brittany suggested.<br>'Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's get make a little den!' Sofia smiled.

'YES! That would be so totally awesome!' I love that sort of thing!  
>'Great, meet ya all down here.' Santana quickly put one arm on the back of Lexie's legs, and the other on her back, picking her up. She giggled, as Sofia tried to do the same to me, but I stopped her. Brittany snorted at all of us, grabbing her old pjs for Lex, and ushering everyone up the stairs.<p>

Sofia's POV  
>Tonight's been really good. I was kinda annoyed to find out that Lexie was staying over with B and San, but she's kinda fun to hang out with… at least here, not school. As the opening credits started Lauren glanced at me. 'What?' I mouthed at her. She just threw a piece of popcorn at me, smirking.<br>_'Whatcha thinking about?'_

She text me. Sneaky.  
><em>'Nothing much. You know that pic of Rory and me from Christmas; can you send it to please?'<em> We all hung out on Christmas Eve.  
>'<em>Duh..<em>.' I got the photo a little bit after, so I set it as my background, and threw my phone on the couch to watch the movie. It's one of my favourites.

Santana's POV  
>If I realized that Lexie would be so scared watching the movie, I would never have let Sofia and Lauren put it on. I never thought about it though; I don't think it's that bad… in fact, it's one of those films that we start off with when the Glee guys have a horror movie marathons, because it's only a little scary. Lex pretty much whimpered throughout the movie, burying her face in my side, freaked out, until she fell asleep, using me as a teddy bear.<br>'That's an awesome movie.' Sofia sighed happily. 'Which one's next?' She stood up, going towards the DVD cabinet in their living room.  
>'Uh, if you guys really want to watch another movie, then you should go upstairs to watch it.' Brittany pointed at Lexie. 'Alex is asleep, and I don't wanna wake her up.'<br>'Um, if it's alright with you Sof, I'm kinda tired, and I have to be up early for church.' Lauren made a face. 'I'm happy staying down here to sleep.'  
>'That's fine; it was just a suggestion anyway.' Sofia shrugged, taking the disc out of the machine, before going to lie down with Lauren so we could all talk before falling asleep.<p>

Lauren's POV  
>The next thing I knew, I was being woken up by Brittany. 'Hey Laur, Q's picking you up soon, you have to get up now!' She stuck her hand out to help me up. 'I made you some hot cocoa!' She skipped into the dining room.<br>'God you are way too enthusiastic for a Sunday morning.' I mumbled as I carefully climbed over a sleeping Sofia, who had somehow rolled over to Santana after B got up, and was hugging her. Sof's so cute when she's asleep. Santana had her arms protectively around Lexie, who looked so peaceful, for the first time days.  
>'I know!' Brittany grinned excitedly as she sat me down in front of the hot chocolate and a small bowl of Coco-Pops.<br>'Ummm...Thanks Britt.' I picked up my spoon nervously… I haven't had breakfast in a while.  
>'It's ok Lauren!' She started to eat her own bowl.<p>

About 30 minutes later Quinn arrived. I walked out to her car… this is surreal. I haven't really spoken to her properly for 2 years, maybe 3?

'Hi Quinn.' I smiled shyly.  
>'Hey Lauren. It's been a while, right?' She nodded at me.<br>'Yeah, it has... But, we have to go church before we can properly catch up.' Quinn looked sympathetically at me, before flicking the cars heating up more. 'Thank you for picking me up Quinn.'  
>'Its ok hun, I have a feeling what might have happened if you didn't go…' She trailed off. Wait… does that mean…<p>

'Well done, you made it.' I met my dad in the middle of church, in between Blaine and Mom. I stood next to Blaine, and Quinn made her way next to me with Judy.  
>'Hi Ms Fabray!'<br>'Hello Lauren. How have you been sweetie?' She was like a second mom to me.  
>'I've been good thanks!'<br>'You have to start coming round again. Maybe, if your parents allow it, you can sleep round next weekend?' I glanced at my dad, and he looked scary excited, and nodded at me.  
>'Um, yes please Ms Fabray. That would be really nice.' It's always awkward in front of my parents, like it was when I was with the Fabray's when Russell was around. Now that he's gone, it should be more comfortable round their house. Quinn beamed, and hugged me as I agreed to have a sleepover with her.<p>

Quinn and I walked into the Lima Bean; luckily it wasn't too busy.

'Hot chocolate L?' I froze… Long before Sue Sylvester, we used to call each other by our initials. I hoped we would be able to do that again.

'It's alright Q; I'll get my own drink.'  
>'No ya won't, because I'm buying. Go get us a table.' She raised an eyebrow… it's still as scary as Frannie's, Quinn's sister, was when my dad got her and Coop to babysit Quinn, Blaine and I when we were little… the advantages of having way older siblings, as our parents used to say. I went to sit at the table in the corner, sticking my tongue out at Quinn when she smirked at me.<p>

'Quinn, why didn't you visit? You know, when I was sick?' Ok, I apparently sound much more vulnerable then I had meant to.  
>'I-I wanted to Laurie, I really did…' She looked down at her tea, closing her eyes briefly. 'But… I-I couldn't… I…'<br>'Russell.' I cut her off. She looked at me with wide eyes. 'We were the perfect daughters, the ones that everyone in church modelled their children after; God, we were even best friends. It couldn't get any better for our fathers.' I paused. 'Then suddenly, I got ill. I wasn't the perfect daughter anymore… In fact, I was a disgrace to both of our families. Russell didn't want his princess being influenced by the sick girl and her gay brother, so he refused to let you visit…'  
>'My mom wanted me to see you as well. She even tried to sneak me out the house once, but then… we got caught, and he…' She gulped. 'He hit her. He hit me.' She suddenly looked me in the eyes, taking my right hand within her left one. 'Just… remember you can talk to me anytime, about anything. My dad was pretty much the same as yours was, so I know what you're going through… at least, to do with that.'<br>'Thanks Luce, uhh...Quinn, it means a lot.' WAIT… I nearly used her name from, like years ago… what's going on today?

After a while, I smirked at Quinn… she narrowed her eyes at me, confused.

'What?'  
>'So, why did you decide to hang out again?' I had a sip of my drink. Quinn's small smile dropped, and she gulped.<br>'Yesterday… ya know you sang that song?' I froze. I know where this is going… 'You got really emotional, your dad… he was joking around with you two… but he was pretending, I could tell. He had the same look in his eye that my dad had… a lot. Not only that, but most people would go straight to their father for comfort, you ran to Blaine. I saw the signs... and got worried.' She started to whisper. 'You're being abused, aren't you?' Shit.  
>'Uh, no! What the heck are you talking about Fabray? Uh…I...' I felt myself go red.<br>'Laure-'She began to plead, but I stopped her. She knows, I might as well tell her, Quinn went through this herself…  
>'It's Blaine, not me. He's gay, and my dad hates that; Blaine gets… hit, almost every day. But...but he hardly ever hits me… when he does, my mom finally gets the courage to say something… sometimes… whenever she does, dad goes on some sort of guilt trip. He takes us to the mall, spending at least a couple hundred bucks on us each, and then we go out for a meal. He won't… hurt Blaine for a couple of days, and then BAM it starts all over.' Quinn came and sat next to me, and put her arm around me.<br>'It'll get better Laurie. Not right away, but in the future. It did for me.' She handed me a napkin… Apparently I was crying...I didn't even realize.  
>'Thanks Quinnie, I think you're right.' I leant into her side a little, and we just sat there for a little bit.<p>

'We've got to go!' Quinn suddenly stood up, after checking the time on her phone. We had been at the coffee shop for a couple hours, just chatting and laughing. 'Dammit we're gonna be late.' She took my hand, pulling me to the car park quickly.  
>'Quinnie, thanks for this morning. I had fun.' I stated once we were on the move. She glanced at me with a smile.<br>'It's ok sweet. I did too.' She turned back to the road.  
>'Why did Mr Schue decide to have a meeting at the school… on a Sunday?'<br>'Um, I think he's a bit jealous. The Cheerio's rehearse five times a week, and Glee only gets three because of that, and Regional's are gonna be coming up soon, I think Mr Schuester wants us to get more time to practice. Annoying, right?'  
>'Extremely.' I laughed, as Quinn did too.<p>

Lexie's POV  
>I sat on the edge of Brittany's bed, waiting for Santana to get ready. Britt sat on her desk chair, slowly spinning around. 'We're gonna be late Brittany.' I whined.<br>'Sanny always makes us late.' She laughed.  
>'I HEARD THAT!' Santana called from the bathroom, walking out a second later. 'Lex, do ya want me to do your hair?'<br>'Why, does it look bad?' I frowned.  
>'It looks fine. But you haven't done anything to it this morning, so I was thinking that you might want me to style it for you.'<br>'Oh, ok, thanks.' After she waved me into the bathroom, she stood me in front of the mirror. 'What are you going to do?'  
>'Um, I think I'm gonna braid it.'<br>'Tana, I'm not four. I think I can get away with having a ponytail.'  
>'Well, I want you to have two braids. You have to listen to your Mama, so suck it up.' Ugh she's gonna hold that joke against me forever. I pouted, but let her do my hair.<br>'Come on guys, we have to go.' Brittany rolled her eyes when Santana nodded absentmindedly.

After we had all got ready, I jumped into the back of Santana's car. 'Lex, seatbelt.' Brittany looked at me.  
>'Gosh, gimme a chance Britt.' I rolled my eyes as I clipped it in.<br>'Alex.' Santana raised an eyebrow. Seriously, how old does she think I am? 'Attitude.'  
>'I know, I know. Anyway, why isn't Sofia coming with us?'<br>'She's grounded from the meeting… Because of what happened on Friday.' What happened on- oh, right, the Slushie incident. I shivered at the memory.  
>'Ohhh, right…' I paused when Santana's phone buzzed.<br>'Britt, what does it say?' She handed it to Brittany.  
>'Um… I'm assuming you have Brittany and Lexie with you, what do you want to eat? We're having a vote, but everyone else has arrived already. Mr Schuester.' Brittany recited from the text.<br>'Told ya we're gonna be late.' I smirked.  
>'Shut up.' Santana winked at me. 'Text him back. Say it's you; tell him we're all together, and that we want BreadstiX.'<br>'Don't we get a choice?' Brittany laughed as she started to text back.  
>'No, BreadstiX is awesome.' Santana smiled. 'Oh, and tell him we're on our way.'<p>

'Hey, is everything ok? Are you ok to be here?' Mr Schue met us at the door of the auditorium; where we were gonna sit on the stage. He put his hand on my shoulder as he bent down to me… how patronizing.  
>'Ya, I'm fine. Thanks to Tana and Britt.'<br>'I watched the web show yesterday, and I was just won-'  
>'I'm fine, Mr Schuester.' I repeated myself, shrugging his hand off, and going over to Brittany and Santana, who were sitting a little bit away, waiting for me.<br>'Ready to sit down?' I was kinda nervous after everyone saw the show yesterday.

'Yeah.' I nodded, accepting Santana's hand when she held it out to me as we walked up the stairs.  
>'Lexie!' 'Are you ok?' 'Are you sure you're ok to be here?' 'Oh my gosh, your interview was emotional!' I was suddenly bombarded by a load of questions by everyone.<br>'I don't want to talk about it.' I lifted my chin high, and walked past them to sit with Lauren and Quinn, who were the only ones who didn't get up. 'Hey guys.'  
>'Hi Lex! Last time I saw you, you were asleep, hugging Santana.' Lauren smirked.<br>'Hey! That's mean.' I blushed.  
>'No it's not, it's cute. You alright?' Quinn asked, patting the space next to her to sit down. I looked at her for less than a second, but I knew she was talking generally, not about last night.<br>'Yup, how are you guys?'  
>'I'm so good right now actually.' Lauren smiled. I grinned at her; she's hardly ever really good.<br>'I'm good too.' Quinn nodded. 'What the heck are you wearing? Wait, are these Brittany's?' She poked the overalls that Hillary gave me, with a pink flowery top… I cringed when I got given them… no wonder Santana acts as if I'm a kid, if I wear clothes like this.  
>'Uh, yeah. Her mom called up my dad, getting him to let me stay over their house, and then she gave me some of Britt's clothes from when she was younger.'<br>'Ohh, ok…' She smiled slightly, looking confused.

Lauren's POV  
>Mr Schue had gone off on one of his stupid tangents, raving about some old band that no one cares about. He was saying that the club should sing more from them. I felt my phone go off in my pocket. I took it out, thankful for a distraction. It was Riker.<br>_'Hey, are you busy tonight? X'  
>'Um, I'm not sure, it depends on family x'<em>  
><em>'Well, if you are, I have a stack of horror movies that need watching, and my family are out for the evening… so I have an empty house x'<br>'That sounds…. Awesome… terrifyingly awesome :P I'll be there… x'  
>'Haha, I'll pick you up at 6… seeing as you don't know where I live \0 x'_ He's crazy… crazy cute.  
><em>'I'll have my pillow ready :D x'<em>

Horror movie marathon! This is gonna be epic! Well, if my father can be convinced to let me go… he has strong views about me and boys… especially alone with them at night. Ugh this is going to take some persuasion.  
>'Your dad's not gonna be happy with you going out tonight Laur.' Quinn raised her eyebrow at me… she had obviously been reading over my shoulder.<br>'I know. Do you think I can change his mind?' I bit my lip.  
>'Maybe.' She shrugged.<p>

Glee ended with Mr Schue giving us the week's assignment. Blaine said he'll pick me up, so I waited for him outside school, thinking. I decided to let him in on my plans for tonight; maybe he can help me find a way to get dad to agree.  
>'So, he invited you to his house to watch horror movies. Alone. At night.'<br>'Yeah… pretty much.'  
>'How exactly are you gonna get dad to agree to this? He has strict rules on boys remember.'<br>'I know.' I half-whined. 'This is where I need your help… I need an excuse to be out the house for the evening.'  
>'Hmm, I might have something….' He suddenly turned to me, with a smirk on his face. 'You know, this sounds awfully like a date…'<br>'Well… I guess it could be…'  
>'My little sister, on her first date… man that's scary.' He said to himself. 'Wait until Cooper hears about this!' I smacked him gently on the arm as we pulled up home.<p>

Lexie's POV  
>'See ya tomorrow Santana.' I smiled as she pulled up outside my house. 'Bye Brittany!'<br>'I'll pick you up at 7.45, kay kiddo?' Santana's picking me up for school, rather than Finn.  
>'Yup, thanks Santana.'<br>'Bye Lexie, see you in the morning.' Brittany awkwardly reached through the car window and hugged me.  
>'Bye guys!' I called as I ran up the path, opening my front door quietly. 'Home!'<br>'In the living room!' My dad called back.  
>'Hey Daddy.' I sat next to him on the couch.<br>'Hi sweetie! How was your weekend?'  
>'It was great! We watched a movie, and played the Wii. We had BreadstiX for lunch today, but Lauren didn't eat any.' I frowned.<br>'She's got a small appetite.' He explained. 'Sweetie, remember you can talk to me about anything, no matter what. I won't be angry.' I looked at my hands.  
>'You watched it?' I didn't think he was actually gonna watch the webshow.<br>'Of course I did baby, I wanted to watch you. What are your older friends' names?'  
>'Santana and Brittany.' I smiled, as I snuggled with my dad. 'They're taking me to school tomorrow, rather than Finn.'<br>'Could you get them to come speak to me please? I need to ask them something.'  
>'Uh, ok Daddy, I'll text Santana.' I shrugged… I wonder what that's all about.<p>

Sofia's POV  
>This is so not fair. All I wanted to do was see my friends and go to Glee. But nooo, Brittany and Santana had to go tell Aunt Hillary that I ordered the Cheerio's to Slushie Lexie…. Now I have to wait until school tomorrow to see Rory. We only have a little time to practice our song! It's gonna be totally cute! I can't wait.<p>

'Sof?' Brittany knocked on my door. 'I have this week's Glee assignment for you.'  
>'Go away.'<br>'Sof, what's wrong? Are you mad at me?' She practically begged.  
>'Yes.' I snapped… kinda unfairly.<br>'Why?' She slightly whined. 'Can we talk about it?'  
>'Fine; come in.' I rolled my eyes as she opened the door, going to sit opposite me on the bed.<br>'Why are you mad at me Sofia?' She pouted.  
>'You got me in trouble.'<br>'Well, you did give me and Sanny attitude.'  
>'And? It's so not fair that you told Aunt Hillary, I had to miss Glee today.' I huffed angrily.<br>'Sof, we were giving you the same punishment as the other girls, even though you ordered them to Slushie Lexie in the first place. You should have got more laps. But then you got angry at us, even though we were being nice to you. That's why we told my mom. You had no right to be like that…'  
>'I… guess when you put it like that… Uh, I'm sorry Britt…'<br>'It's ok Sofia! Thank you for that!' She scooted over to me, putting her arms around me sweetly.

Lauren's POV  
>I had just finished getting ready when I got a text from Riker saying he was outside. I'd asked him to text me so my dad wouldn't get suspicious when some random boy was at the door. I grabbed my bag and said goodbye to Blaine. I used his window to climb out and down to the driveway; I had told dad I had a lot of homework so I'd be in my room all night. Blaine said he would keep him away from my room; hopefully he doesn't decide to check up on me.<p>

As I climbed down I saw Riker across the street leaning on his car. He looked up at me and laughed, just as cute as I remember.  
>'I'm gonna say you didn't get permission to leave then…' He said as I walked over to him.<br>'Yeah, I'm sorta meant to be doing homework in my room...' I looked up at him. He was smiling. So. Cute.  
>'Well, I must say you look very nice for doing 'homework', you look...amazing.' I felt the blood rush to my face and I couldn't help but giggle a little. I must look like an idiot.<br>'So… are we just going to stand here?' I smirked  
>'Ohh right, yeahh, let's go.' He laughed, flicking his beautiful hair to get it out of his eyes.<p>

The drive to his house took about half an hour. On the way we talked about anything. It felt so natural… I could tell we were going to get on well.

We pulled into his drive and he led me into his house. It was a sweet family home with family photos up everywhere.  
>'I've bought some movie snacks; I wasn't sure what you like so I got a bit of everything.' He said, taking my coat and leading me to the living room. It was lucky I had only had breakfast today, looking at the amount of snacks there were laid out. But…. it's just a few sweets…. right?<br>'Awesome!' I went and sat down on the sofa.  
>'You want a drink?'<br>'Do you have any diet coke?'  
>'Yup.' he came and sat down next to me. 'So... What movie first? How about Paranormal Activity?'<br>'Great!' What? Why did I say great? That movie was terrifying! I couldn't sleep for weeks after! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad the second time round...

As the movie was playing, I found myself hiding completely behind a pillow.  
>'Are you ok?' Riker looked genuinely concerned. I shook my head from behind the pillow. 'We don't have to keep watching it you know... I'll turn it off if you want.' He frowned, already standing up.<br>'Yes please. I'm sorry, that movie just terrifies me.'  
>'No, it's cool... I actually find that really cute.' I smiled sheepishly. Riker came back over and sat next to me once the DVD was back in its place.<br>'So what do you wanna do?' I say, breaking the silence.  
>'Let's just talk.' He smiled, turning to face me. 'We can get to know each other… Like how you don't like Paranormal Activity.' He laughed.<p>

We ended up talking for ages, laughing and giggling like we have known each other for years. At about 10 o'clock, I decided I should get home.

'I've had a really nice evening. Thank you Riker.' I say as he let me out his car.  
>'Even though I terrified you?'<br>'Even though you terrified me.' I said, quoting him. He laughed.  
>'We should do this again sometime, hang out I mean, not terrify you.' He suggested.<br>'Yeah, maybe skip the horror movies next time...'  
>'Well, I'll call you.' he said as he walked back to the driver's side.<br>'Ok, bye...' I grinned, waving him off.  
>When the car had disappeared, I climbed back up into Blaine's room. I couldn't stop smiling; that was the best evening I'd had in a while...<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Lexie's POV

I lay on my bed, swinging my legs back and forth on the side, waiting for Santana and Brittany. Apparently I can't be there when my dad talks to them, so they're in the living room right now. Ugh I hate waiting. My phone suddenly bleeped, and I grabbed it, grateful for a distraction. It was just a stupid text from Mr Schuester, reminding us that the duets thing started today. Well that was worth getting excited for, not!

'Lex, can you come down sweetie?' My dad finally called up the stairs. I got all my school stuff, jogging down the stairs.

'What's up Daddy?' I stood in front of Santana, glancing up at her when she put her arms over my shoulders.

'This weekend, I'm going away for work. Carole and Burt are going to Washington, and neither of them trusts Finn or Kurt to look after you.' He chuckled. 'So, I asked Santana and Brittany if they could stay over to watch you. Would you like that?'

'Really Daddy? That'll be awesome.' I turned around. 'Will you do it? It'll be so much fun!'

'We've already said yes.' Santana smirked.

'Thank you so much!' I squealed, hugging her, before going to Brittany. 'Thanks for asking them Daddy.' I hugged him too.

'C'mon kiddo, we have to go. Bye Mr Goodson!' Santana smiled as she made her way to the door.

'Bye Daddy, see you after school!' I ran after the others as they got to the car.

'Have a good day girls!' He waved after us.

As we walked into the school, I remembered where I had to go. 'Um, I've got to go meet Lauren to practice our song. Thanks for the lift Tana!'

'It's ok kiddo, see you at recess!' She called after me as I entered the choir room.

'Hey Laur! What's wrong?' She looked kinda confused.

'Uh, nothing. It's just Blaine, he text me just now, saying that Dad let Kurt come round, thinking that he's a partner for something for school.'

'Oh… So, Blaine lied?'

'Yeah, apparently. I'm gonna have to make sure that dad doesn't go into his room… or, at least to warn Blaine that he's coming somehow.' She sighed.

'Well… Maybe you could make a noise signal with Blaine.' I shrugged. 'Uh, do you want to practice?'

'Yeah, come on… Kiddo.' She stuck her tongue out at me when I glared at her, laughing.

Sofia's POV

'Sof, I'm nervous.' Rory whined as we headed towards the choir room at lunch.

'Rory, you've sang in front of everyone before, you'll be fine!'

'I know, but what if people don't like us together?'

'We don't have to care about them, it's us that count. Anyway, Lauren knows, and that's all that matters, she's our best friend.'

'You told her? What did she think?'

'She was well happy for us!' I giggled as he hugged me.

After Lauren and Lexie sang, Mr Schue looked at me and Rory. 'Guys, are you ready to go?' I looked at Rory, who nodded with an anxious smile.

'Yup!' I stood up, grabbing his hand as we went to the middle of the room. We smiled at each other as Sam began to play the tune on his guitar.

When the song finished, Rory and I put our arms around each other, and he kissed me gently. I glanced at the rest of the club, some of them were confused, but the rest were a bit stunned. Lauren stood up, applauding. Dork. Everyone else started to clap too, and Brittany ran down to hug me.

'Is this what you couldn't tell us on Saturday?' Santana smirked at Lexie, who nodded with a giggle. Quinn laughed, poking Santana, who glared at her playfully. Lex glanced at me.

'C'mere.' I waved her over, putting one arm round her when she reached us. 'Thanks for not telling anyone, you kept it hidden well.' I said quietly in her ear.

'It's ok; I guessed you wanted a big announcement. That was a great performance by the way.' She whispered back.

'Thanks kid.' I smirked, as Lauren ran to me, throwing her arms around me.

'That was epic! I'm soooo happy for you Sof!' She smiled, kissing me on the cheek while laughing.

Lauren's POV

After school, Blaine picked me up, with Kurt in the car. 'Heeey guys!'

'You're happy Laur!' Kurt smirked at me. 'Good day?'

'It was epic. Lex and I sang together, which was fun, and Sofia revealed that she's going out with Rory.' I rolled my eyes at Kurt as he turned around again.

'Really? Wow! But they are so perfect for each other! Aww!' He sat back, being all weird…

'Ooh, Lexie had a good idea about tonight… Whenever dad comes up to check on you guys, I'll call out 'Dad' so you know he's on his way.'

'That's awesome, I like it!' Blaine grinned at Kurt knowingly.

'Yeah… I'll text Lex, saying thanks.' He smiled.

'Hey, it'll mean you have to talk to him for a bit…' Blaine started.

'…Meaning you'll get a chance to pretend you've been studying.' I smirked, laughing when both of them blushed.

When we got home Blaine and Kurt went straight upstairs to 'study', so I went to my room and started my homework.  
>A little while later I heard some footsteps coming upstairs. I stuck my head around my door and saw dad about to knock on Blaine's door. Here we go...<br>'Dad?'  
>'Yes?' I realised I didn't know what to say.<br>'Ummm... I... Can you help me with my homework?'  
>He looked suspicious. 'Umm...Sure, what do you need help with?' What did I need help with?<br>'Algebra, yeah, it's super difficult...'  
>He came over to my room and I saw Blaine look out from his room, I gave him a thumbs up. The things I do for my brother...<p>

Santana's POV

'What's up Mr Schue?' I sat opposite him in his office, filing my nails irritably.

'I was thinking about what happened during our Spanish songs week.' He paused. 'You were right, Santana, I was using stereotypes to teach a language and culture I don't know all that well. I've spoken to Principal Figgins, and I'm applying to be a history teacher next year, and he'll get a new Spanish teacher.'

'What's that got to do with me? I'll be gone by then.' I shrugged.

'Well, I've decided that you can help me during the last couple months… If you wanted to, at least.'

'Help you… how?'

'Would you like to come into my lessons during your free periods? I've looked at your schedule, and it's pretty much only freshman's that you'll be with.' That sounds ok…

'What will I get out of it?' I narrowed my eyes.

'I thought you might ask; how about coupons for BreadstiX?'

'I'm in. I'll start tomorrow.' I stood up, walking out of the room, as Mr Schuester smiled.

The next day, I knocked on the door of the Spanish room, smiling slightly as Mr Schue nodded me in. 'Guys, I've asked for some help for your classes.' He looked at the kids. 'Santana, here, is a senior student, who also happens to be Latina. She is going to come in some lessons each week, and be like a class assistant for us.'

'Hey everyone.'

'Grab an empty seat.' He gestured to the room. I saw a couple of free chairs, but movement to my left grabbed my attention, and I looked to see Lex move her bag from the seat next to her, so I went to sit there.

'Hey kiddo.'

'Hi Tana!' She whispered back, grinning as she carried on copying down what was on the board.

'Everyone, I've got your test marks back!' The whole class groaned, and I smirked, standing up to help Mr S hand out the papers.

'Hey, do you want me to go through anyone's papers with them?' I spoke to him at his desk as he gave me half of them.

'Um, how about you go through it with the class? That'll probably help them all then.'

'Yeah, ok.' I smiled, handing out my stack, and then standing in front them all.

'I'll see you later kiddo, I've got to get to practice.' Lex and I walked out of the room together.

'Uh, can I watch it please? I've always wanted to see what goes on.' I glanced at her, with an amused smile.

'Yeah, let's go.' I grabbed her hand, pulling her down the corridor. 'Sooo, what did you get on your test? I didn't get a chance to see your grade.'

'I did quite well.' She shrugged.

'And that was…' She looked away from me. 'Fine then.' I grabbed her bag, and got her paper out.

'No, Tana!' She whined, taking it from me before I got to see it.

'I'm staying at yours from tomorrow night anyway… I can make your weekend horrible… B and I were thinking about meeting up with Q and Lauren on Saturday night… but if you don't want to…' Lexie glared at me, and handed me the test. 'Wow Lex, that's awesome!' I loud-whispered. 'A+. Why were you hiding it from me Lex? 100%! I'm so proud of you!' I hugged her, smiling when she blushed.

'Why are we proud of her San?' Brittany walked behind me, snatching the paper from my hand.

'Full marks! Well done Lexie!' She hugged her too, even picking her up and spinning her around. 'Your Daddy's gonna be so happy!'

'C'mon, we have to go to practice. Lexie wants to watch today, so she's coming with.'

'Awesome!' Britt grinned, automatically going on the other side of Lex as we carried on down the corridor.

_Friday Afternoon_

Lauren's POV

As I was doing my biology homework, I suddenly heard some shouting coming from the hallway. I frowned, and ran out, to see Blaine being held against the wall. Dammit I must have missed my dad coming up the stairs.

'Mr Anderson, please let go of him!' Kurt pleaded, slowly backing away as dad glared at him.

'Dad, we weren't doing anything! I promise!' Blaine must care about Kurt; he wouldn't usually argue back like this.

'YOU WERE ABOUT TO KISS!'

'We were just talking! Stop hurting your son!' Kurt went red, going as close as he dared. He's gonna be in trouble himself soon.

'Kurt, please.' I pulled him away.

'Lauren, are you just going to just stand there, and watch him hurt Blaine?'

'No, Kurt, but it's going to be worse if you're here!' He looked hurt for a moment, before he nodded in understanding. 'Please, go home. I'll get him to call you.' I whispered in his ear, slowly turning back to my family as he fled.

'I can't believe you Blaine Anderson! You lied to me! You were about to kiss - a BOY - under my roof!' Dad pulled Blaine away from the wall an inch, before slamming him back up to it, and then punching him in the gut.

'Dad, you're going too far! You're really gonna hurt him like that! He didn't do anything!' I screamed. I gasped when he let go of Blaine and span to look at me.

'That's rich, coming from you slut!' My eyes widened. Blaine closed his own eyes, unable to do anything, in pain, as I was pushed up against the opposite wall.

'What are you talking about?'

'I know what happened Sunday night. You went to a boy's house, while your mom and I were downstairs, thinking you were doing your homework.'

'I don't know what you're talking about!' I lied.

'No? So, what's this then?' He let go of me, his hand immediately plunging into his pocket, and shoving my phone in my face. My conversation with Riker was on display. Great. 'You lying, sleazy, SLUT!'

'Dad, wha- how did you get my phone?'

'Planning on hiding it from me? You left it in the table at breakfast.'

'Dad, I- we didn't do anything, I promise! We just talked... And watch a movie!'

'I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DID! You were home alone with him. Tell me one thing Lauren. How old are you allowed to start dating?'

'E-eighteen...'

'There you go. You were lying. You sneaked out. And you are apparently dating. That's three things you've done.' He shook his head.

'Dad, it's not like that-'

'Did you do the things I just said?' I nodded weakly. 'Get out.'

'Dad? Wh-what?'

'I said GET OUT!' He bellowed in my face. 'You too Blaine!' Dad put his hand around my left arm, and grabbed Blaine too, before dragging us to the front door, and pushing us on to the sidewalk. He threw my phone at me, before slamming the door.

We stood on the pavement, in the cold, for a few moments. 'Laure-'

'It's going to be ok Blaine. It's not ok now, but it will be.'

'What are we going to do now?'

'I'm calling Quinn. She'll know what to do.' I went on to her contact, and clicked on her number to call.

'Hey L!'

'Quinnie, we need help. Blaine and me. C-can you pick us up? I'll explain everything then.'

'On my way. Give me two minutes.' I heard the ignition turn in her car, and the phone went dead. Wow that was quick.

'She's coming.' Blaine put his arm around me, and I leant against him.

Quinn raced round the corner pretty soon, and we trudged into the back of her car. It had actually started to pour with rain while we were waiting, but we could still feel the cold eyes of our father staring at us through the kitchen window.

'What happened?' She turned back to us, with a kinda angry glint in her eyes, which was obviously not directed at us. We proceeded to explain to her what happened, and the anger grew in her expression.

'So... We're here now, with you...' I finished, tears pouring down my face.

'You're staying with us. Blaine, you're coming home, and then I'll drop you round Kurt's if you want.'

'Can you drop me there now please?'

'No, my mom wants to know what happened. She heard the phone call, and wants to make sure you're both ok.' She turned back to face the road, and drove us to the Fabray residence.

Pretty much as we got there, my phone ran out of battery, and I borrowed Quinn's charger to plug it in, before heading to the dining room to have a ''discussion'' with Judy. We were still pretty cold from the freezing rain, and I was practically shivering, and Judy stopped us from sitting down, even though we wanted to get it over and done with.

'No, guys, I don't want you to get sick from the cold.'

'Mrs Fabray, we weren't out there for long.' Blaine frowned.

'Blaine, you used to call me 'Aunt Judy'. Don't start being formal in my own home dear.' She smiled. 'Anyway, no arguments. Any amount of time can affect your health. Both of you go and have a warm bath or shower: Blaine, in the main bathroom, and Lauren, you can go in Quinn's room. Quinn will give you some pyjamas, and I'll look for some spare clothes of Cooper's from when you guys used to stay over.'

'Thanks Judy.' I wrapped my arms around her, before following Quinn to her bedroom. 'Wow, Q, your room hasn't changed...'

'Yeah, well, it's only been like four years.' She shrugged. I smiled when I realised her stuffed lamb still lived on her bed... She couldn't sleep without it when I was ten.

After my relaxing warm bath and I got into Quinn's pyjamas, I walked downstairs, and into the living room to check my phone. I turned it on, and noticed I had a missed call from my dad, and a voicemail. I listened to the message, and then ran into the dining room. Everyone needs to hear this.

'First things first, we need to talk about what's happening this weekend with your dad.' Judy spoke as I came into the room, on her left side as she sat at the head of the table. Quinn was next to me, and Blaine was opposite me.

'I have that covered.' I said, putting my phone on the table, and playing the voicemail.

'Lauren, darling, you need to come home. I didn't mean to be so harsh on you and Blaine; I shouldn't have kicked you out. Come home soon, both of you, please.' The message ended, and we all sat in silence for a bit.

'You're staying here tonight.' Judy said first, leaving no room for argument.

'Lauren, we're still having our sleepover tomorrow.' Quinn nodded. 'Are you staying tomorrow too Blaine? Or...'

'I'm going home tomorrow. Whatever lies in wait for me when I get there, I don't want you there Lauren.' He looked at me.

'Blai-'

'No, Lauren, you're always witnessing what happens, and this time it's going to be horrid. Take this chance, and don't be there, please...'

'Fine, I won't. But if it gets too bad, please leave home, by your own choice this time.'

'You can always stay here.' Judy offered.

'There's one condition though Blaine. Go home, and I'll come too a couple hours later, so I can get some clothes. If you're hurt, you can come back with me. If you're not, Q and I can have our sleepover like the original plan.' I stared at Blaine.

'That's fair.' He nodded simply.

Sofia's POV

I am so bored. Lauren and Blaine are now at Quinn's - thankfully! And Brittany and Santana are looking after Lexie… I'm sitting here on my laptop, scrolling through facebook, and searching the internet randomly. I better start getting ready though, Rory's on his way over with his family. Aunt Hillary invited them over; I still don't think she knows about us… Rory's mom does though…

After getting ready, and fixing my makeup and stuff, I came down the stairs. Hillary looked at me, looking kinda confused.

'Sof, Rory and his family are just coming over for dinner, you don't need to be all dressed up.'

'I want to…' I blushed, and Hillary nodded.

'Can you set the table please? Everyone will be here soon; set the table for 6 of us.'

'Ok, I will.' I smiled, and headed towards the kitchen to get the cutlery.

'Sofia, Rory and his family are here!' Aunt Hillary called from the front door. I stood up, smoothed down my skirt, and quickly walked to meet everyone.

'Hi!' I grinned.

'Hello my darling.' Rory kissed me on the cheek, and Hillary gave me an amused smile.

'Hey Mrs Flanagan.' I hugged his mom warmly, laughing when his little brother ran up to me and threw his arms around me.

'Sooooofia!'

'Ha-ha, hi Kieran!' I ruffled his hair, and then turned on the Wii for him. 'Urm, Aunt Hillary, Rory and I are going upstairs….'

'Ok, I'll call you down when dinner's ready.' She smiled. 'Oh, keep your door open Sofia!' She called as we walked up the stairs.

'Yeah I will…' I rolled my eyes at Rory, who laughed heartily. These are the moments that I'm glad that our families are close.

Lexie's POV

As my dad finished his packing for the weekend, the doorbell rang. I jumped up from the couch and ran to the door, yanking it open quickly, knowing who it'll be behind it.

'Tana! Britt! Hi guys!' I smiled, giggling when Santana came in and hugged me, followed by Brittany, before they went into the living room with their stuff.

'You alright Lex?' Santana grinned.

'Yep!' I frowned when my dad came into the room, holding his weekend bag.

'Hi girls, are you ready for this weekend?'

'Yes Mr Goodson, it's going to be good.' Santana smiled.

'Great!' He sat down on the armchair, pointing to the couch for Santana and Brittany to sit down. 'Now, there's some money in an envelope for food and emergencies, and Lexie's got some money saved up if she wants anything. Her bedtime's at 8:30, don't let her argue with you. My numbers on the fridge, as well as Carole and Burt's. Call if there are any problems, but I doubt there will be.'

'Ok, I got all that.' Santana smiled.

'Yeah, it's going to be a great weekend.' Brittany nodded, standing up as soon as my dad did.

'The spare room is all set up for you both, and, as we discussed, everything's ready for you to do dinner now. I've got to go.' He looked at me. 'Be good for Santana and Brittany, Lexie, and I'll see you on Sunday.'

'I will Daddy, have a good weekend.'

'You too darling.' He hugged me, and smiled at San and Britt, before picking up his things and leaving.

After he left, Santana and Brittany sat back down, and I went to sit in between them.

'8:30 bedtime?' Santana looked at me, amused.

'I know… It's well early.' I blushed.

'Don't worry; I won't make you go to bed that early.' She laughed.

'Thanks Tana.' I snuggled into her.

'I better start dinner.' Brittany stood up.

'No Britt, the last time you tried, you nearly burnt my house down! Mom was none too happy with you! I'll cook.' Santana got up. 'Wanna help Lex?'

'Uhh no it's ok thanks, I can't cook at all!'

'We'll choose a movie to watch or something, where are they Lexie?' Brittany smirked at me, and I dragged her to the DVD cabinet.

During dinner, I sat back in my seat. I was stuffed.

'Tana, this is real good.'

'Thanks kiddo, that means a lot.' She grinned. 'Ya don't need to eat it all though, not if you're full.'

'Or you can have a little break!' Brittany suggested.

'Yeah, I think that'll be best.' I laughed, folding my legs underneath me and sitting on them.

Santana's POV

A couple hours after Lexie went to bed, I checked on her, and then went into the guest room to go sleep myself. 'Hey B.' I climbed under the covers.

'Hey. It's been a good day.' She smiled.

'It has! Lexie is just adorable!'

'Ya, she is! I'm so glad her dad gave us this opportunity, I just wish it was for a better reason…'

'Me too. Hey, wanna take her to Columbus tomorrow? We can go for lunch and hang out in the mall.'

'Good idea. What's happening with Quinn and Lauren tomorrow?'

'Um, I'm not sure at the moment; we'll probably go out for a meal or something.'

'Good idea.' She grinned. 'I'm gonna sleep now, good night.' She kissed me, before lying down and closing her eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

**Update! Sorry it's been so long!**

Santana's POV

The next day at breakfast we discussed our plans for the day.

'Guys, what are we doing today?' Lexie asked.

'Well…We were thinking of going to Columbus, to the mall. How does that sound?'

'We can have lunch and go shopping.' Brittany grinned.

'Great! Can we go now?' Lexie's eyes widened, and she jumped up.

'No, eat your breakfast first, and then we'll go.'

'Bu- okay.' She pouted, and sat down to finish her toast. Britt and I looked at each other, both smirking.

'Lex, come on! We have to go!' I shouted up the stairs.

'I'm coming, don't worry!' She rolled her eyes as she came down, running excitedly.

'Have you ever been to the main Columbus mall?' I asked as we got into B's car.

'Nope, but I've always wanted to; we drove through Columbus every time my Dad drove to Ohio…' She shrugged.

'Awesome, I'm glad we get to see you experience it. You're gonna love it!'

'Totally!' Brittany chimed in, starting the car.

Lexie's POV

Once Brittany had stopped the car in the mall parking lot, we all got out and walked to the entrance.

'So, where do you wanna go first?' Santana looked at me.

'Uhh… I don't know, what's here?'

'Just the general stuff. We should look around, so you can see what's in here.'

'Ooh Sanny, can we go to the candy store?' Brittany looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

'Ya, if you want to B.' Santana laughed, when Brittany jumped up and down happily.

'Come on Lex.' She grabbed my hand, dragging me to this awesome sweet shop. 'Look how cool this is!' As soon as we got in there, I realized how much sugar was in there – it was such a big shop!

'Ohh…Wooooow…' I whispered. There were tubes all along one wall, filled with different flavors and colors of jelly beans, and in the middle, there was a few tables with loads of random sweets. On the other walls, there were shelves filled with special things, stuff you wouldn't find in a regular supermarket. There are giant jelly babies and flavored popcorn and candy floss. Oh my gosh this is great!

'C'mon, let's get some stuff for tonight; we'll have a movie marathon!' Brittany took my hand again, and picked up a basket to put stuff in.

Santana's POV

While I waited for the others to finish in the candy store, I watched them. Lexie was in total _awe_. It was so cute. Brittany was in seventh heaven too, this is such a good shop for both of them, they're enjoying themselves so much, let just hope they don't make each other sick!

'Sanny, do you want anything?' Britt came up to me.

'I'm sure you can pick me something babe.' I kissed her cheek, and she skipped off excitedly with Lex.

'So, where do you wanna eat guys?' I asked them a few hours later.

'Pizza Huuuut!' Lex laughed, pointing at the sign.

'Yay!' Brittany grinned, and they looked at me.

'Go on then…' I sighed, following them when they ran off. Kids. 'So, are you happy with what you've bought so far?' I looked at Lexie.

'Yeah, it's been awesome. Thanks guys.' She smiled, yawning a second later.

'Are you tired Alex?' I frowned, and she shrugged.

'Maybe just a little…' She blushed.

'You're having a nap in the car.' I concluded, and Lex scowled as the waitress got to us.

Lauren's POV

Me, Quinn, and Judy finished lunch at 1, Blaine went home at 11.30. I was itching to go see if he's ok, I need clothes anyway. I looked at Q, and she smirked at me knowingly. 'C'mon Lauren, let's go.'

'Thanks Quinn.' I grinned.

'Make sure you're ok Lauren; you can't help Blaine if you're hurt too.' Judy looked at me sternly.

'I will Judy. Thanks.'

'Good.' She hugged me. 'See you soon girls.'

'Will do Mom, bye!' Quinn rolled her eyes. We went and got in the car, to drive two minutes away… well, I DO have to drag stuff from home for a sleepover…

'I might be a while…'

'That's fine, I'll wait. Call me if you need me to come in.'

'Okay Quinn, I will.'

'Great; remember, if Blaine's hurt in any way, drag him here. If not, or if you think it's ok to leave him, just pack some clothes and whatever for tonight. We're gonna meet up with San, Britt, and Lex as well at some point, if you wanna take something different to wear.'

'Yeah, you mentioned that…' I trailed off, glancing at the house then back at Quinn.

'Go on.' She smiled, and quickly hugged me before I got out.

I slowly walked up the drive into the house, carefully listening out for any noises. It was eerily silent.

'Hello? Anyone home?' Dad came into the hallway. 'Lauren! You're back!' He came and hugged me. I flinched away a little.

'Uh, well, Quinn and I are having our sleepover tonight, as planned and er…I need to get some clothes.'

'Of course you do. Go on then.' He gestured up the stairs, and I quickly walked up them, heading towards Blaine's room.

'Blainers?' I called quietly, holding my breath as I edged the door open.

'Lauren…There you are!' I looked at him, and he looked completely normal.

'How's it been then?' I sat next to him on the bed, and he grinned.

'It's been okay so far. He hasn't done anything….'

'Has he said anything?'

'Well, he apologized for kicking me out… and offered to drive me to my 'friend's' house…'

'I wonder how long _that_ will last.'

'…But then he hasn't spoken to me since.'

'Have you spoken to Kurt yet?'

'Yeah, he was worried sick. I told him that I couldn't talk to him though, Dad will probably flip again. We're gonna meet up tonight. I'm telling Dad that I'm going to Nick's house, I would say Riker's house, but he's not exactly in Dad's good books at the moment…' Blaine looked over at me raising his eyebrow.

'Hmm, I wonder why that could be…' I smirked, but then it dropped when I remembered last night. 'Can… I check…' I gestured to his t-shirt. 'You know for bruises…'

Just like me, he has a great show face. I can tell when he's using it, but I had to be sure.

'Laur nothing happened I promise…' He turned to look me in the eyes.

'Ok, I believe you…'

'What shall I take for tonight?' I looked at Blaine as he helped me pack.

'Um, I don't know. Where are you going?'

'Probably BreadstiX…'

'Okaaay… I think this is a will suit perfectly.' He went to my closet and handed me my purple distressed jeans and lilac top.

'Nice, thanks Blainers.'

'Are you looking forward to tonight?'

'Yeah, it's going to be nice. But I'm worried that'll be awkward, I'm kinda glad we're going out with Lex, Santana and Brittany.'

'That makes sense…' He grinned.

'Have fun tonight Blaine… and try keep out Dad's way.'

'I will, I promise. Anyway! Never mind me, you have fun!' He started to imitate Dad 'And be good for Mrs Fabray.' Whoa, that was a perfect at least until he started laughing.

'Weirdo.' I mumbled with a smirk. 'I'd better go, see you tomorrow.'

'See ya sis!' He hugged me before walking me to the front door with my stuff, hugging me again at the door.

I climbed back into Quinn's car, and she stared at me. 'So?'

'He's okay; there are no bruises, and he and Dad are keeping out of each other's way. Blaine told dad that he's going round his friend Nick's house later, but he's going to see Kurt.'

'Great, I'm glad he's okay. Plus it means we get our sleepover tonight.' She grinned as she started the car.

Lexie's POV

Later, Brittany and I were watching television, and Santana was just coming out of the bathroom when her cell phone rang. She looked at it, and glanced at me weirdly, before shrugging and answering the call. 'Hey Mr Goodson!'

'Wait, my dad? Why didn't he call the house phone?' I whispered to Britt.

'I don't know... it must be important, he must have wanted to make sure he got to speak to Santana first.' She replied quietly. I nodded as she put her arm around my shoulders.

'Um, are you sure? Wouldn't it be better to tell her face to face?' What the heck's going on? This is so strange... 'Uh, yeah, okay...' Santana sat on the other side of me. 'Alex, your dad wants to talk to you...' She gave me the phone, looking at Brittany unhappily. I moved to sit on the armchair, kinda opposite them but to the side.

'Hey Daddy.'

'Hi Alex. Darling, do you remember when I told you about my cancer?'

'Duh, I can't forget that Daddy!'

'I had to tell you straight away, I couldn't wait...'

'I know... so, what's up?' I bit my lip, why would he bring this up? Unless... oh god...

'There's something else now, isn't there? What is it?'

'I-I... bent the truth... I'm not away for work...'

'You lied to me?' I whispered. 'Wait, where are you then? What have you been doing?'

'I've been looking... at hospices. I found one...'

'Isn't that... where people go... to... to...' I dropped Santana's phone and ran into the kitchen, slamming the door behind me. My dad's going to die. He's gonna die and there is nothing I can do about it. He lied to me to go find somewhere to die. I feel numb...like there is nothing left…No feelings at all… Emptiness.

Santana's POV

I don't know what happened, Alex just ran into the kitchen after Tom told her the news. She was really shocked, she wasn't even crying. I grabbed my phone; he was still on the line.

'Mr Goodson, Lex has just gone into the other room. I'll call you later?'

'That's fine, thanks Santana.' He sounded almost broken... the call ended, and I looked at Brittany, who looked shocked. I shrugged, and walked into the kitchen.

'OMG LEXIE!' She was on the floor, holding a knife to her wrist. She looked at me with no emotion in her eyes. 'ALEX, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? C'mon, put that down, don't do this! Let's talk.' I slowly walked towards her grabbing the knife as I got close enough, gently throwing it into the sink. She sank to the floor and I sat next to her. I pulled her onto my lap, hugging her tightly.

'No, Tana, I can't... My Dad's gonna die, it's definite now, I don't want to talk.' She whispered harshly.

'I know kiddo, but it's ok... cry then, you're holding it in.' She looked at me, frowning. 'I can tell Lex, but seriously... I've got you...' She laid her head on my chest, and slowly started to cry; I held her on my lap, smiling weakly at Brittany when she peaked around the corner.

Quinn's POV

Lauren and I were sitting on the little couch that was in my bedroom, talking about old memories and looking through photos of us from when we were younger.

'We were cute back then!'

'Well, I was!' She laughed, grinning when I scowled at her. Suddenly, my phone rang... I looked, and it was Brittany... weird. I know we're meeting up later, but it's San that's sorting it out, not Britt... I picked it up, it must be important...

'Britt. What's up?'

'Quinn, we need your help, me and Santana, it's important, it's Lexie, she's upset, something happened. Quinn, you're smart, help us?' She's ranting, and panicking. What on earth's going on over there?

'Brittany! Calm down. Take deep breaths.'

'Okay... okay...' She said quietly.

'Ready? Tell me what happened...' Lauren looked at me with wide eyes, but I shrugged.

'Lexie's dad called Santana, and he wanted to talk to Lex. I don't know what exactly he said, but I think he told her what he was doing this weekend...'

'Ohhh... how did she react?'

'She…she ran into the kitchen, I think she tried to cut her wrist, she had a knife, I don't think she was actually going to, but she thought about it...'

'Brittany! Stop! You're going to start panicking, slow down.'

'Can you help us? It's really scaring me...I don't know what to do…'

'Of course Britt, I'll help as much as possible. Just... for now, keep her away from anything...er …of that sort.' I said vaguely, remembering that Lauren was next to me.

'What? Oh, the knife! Yeah, okay, we can do that... then what?'

'Let me talk to Lauren... I'll call you back, okay? Hold tight Britt!'

'Okay Quinn, thanks... See you soon!' The phone went dead, and I bit my lip. Lauren had problems with this in the past, and she and Lex are close; it's going to be hard to break to her... but at least we have her for guidance, I guess.

Lauren looked at me, with a concerned frown. 'What happened Quinn, what's wrong with Lexie?'

'Well… you know her dad was looking at hospices today?'

'Yeah, that's why San and Britt are there…'

'Exactly… Um, well, her dad decided to tell her… because he found one he liked…'

'Shit.' She whispered… 'Then what?' I took a deep breath.

'She ran into the kitchen… and Santana and Brittany found her with… with a knife…'

'Ohh…She was gonna cut wasn't she?'

'I… I think so… well; she was thinking about it at least, I don't think she would have gone through with it.'

'Hmm…'

'What do we do Lauren?' I looked down; I should know we were the best of friends when Lauren done this herself…

'I want to talk to her, just me and her… can we go round there?'

'Um, I guess… let me call Britt back…'

Santana's POV

Brittany came into the kitchen, muttering to me about Quinn. 'Good idea B, we need her help…'

'She's gonna call back… do you wanna get more comfortable? I'll help Lexie into the other room.'

'Lex, do you want to go on the couch?' She shrugged, still crying a little against my chest.

'C'mon sweetie, let's go.' Britt picked her up, handed me her phone, and carefully walking towards the living room.

'Hi Q.' I flipped Britt's phone open when it rang.

'Are you ok San? You sound…'

'I'm fine Blondie, I'm fine. I'm just… I guess a bit shocked.' I said sincerely with a shrug.

'That's understandable. Look, Lauren and I are going to come over, is that okay? Lauren wants to talk to Lex alone, like in her room or something.'

'Um, yeah, that's great, come soon. We can go to BreadstiX after as well.'

'Typical.' I could feel her smirk down the phone.

'Haha.' I said sarcastically. 'Quinn, you should have seen it. Lexie was holding a knife; she was too shocked to even cry. I had to get it myself, away from her other arm.'

'Oh my God Santana…' She gasped.

'I pulled her onto my lap, right on the kitchen floor, until she cried, and then we stayed like that, with her in my arms, sobbing into my chest. Britt carried her to the couch just before you called.' I frowned when she didn't answer straight away. 'Quinn?'

'You are such a good person Santana. Most people would be too shocked to do anything; you helped that girl so much. I'm so proud of you Santana Maria Lopez.'

'That means a lot Quinn, thanks.' My breath hitched as I tried not to cry; Quinn's such a good friend, I don't know what I would do without her.

'See you soon, okay Santana? Stay strong for a little while longer. I love you San.' She rang off, and I smiled at the closed phone. She's such a good person when she wants to be.

Lauren's POV

We drove to Alex's house in complete silence. I know I've had problems, but I don't… I don't know if I can help her not to have the same ones… I mean it's different being on the other side of things…I need to see how bad it is first. I can't believe she reacted in this way, she's too little…

'Quinn, does Finn know about what happened this evening?'

'Um, I don't think so.'

'Good. He would just make it worse…' He's a complete fool…

'Truer words have never been spoken.' Quinn smiled as we pulled up to the house. 'Lauren… you're gonna talk to Lex in her room, like you wanted…' She bit her lip.

'But?'

'But don't hesitate to call San or me up stairs, if… if you can't handle it or anything… Lexie is important, but so are you.'

'Okay Quinn' I smiled at her reassuringly.

'Hey guys. Thanks so much for this, I just… we don't know what to do…' Santana answered the door, looking in a state of shock. I'm not surprised, if I found Lexie or Sofia about to self-harm… okay, I'm a bad example… but still…

'You don't need to say thanks; I'd do anything for any of you guys.' I said without realizing, it's true though.

'Me too… to state the obvious.' Quinn smiled slightly, and Santana led us into the living room. Brittany was on the armchair, with Lexie curled in her lap, sniffling. She looked broken. It was such a sad sight.

'Alex, can we talk? In your room? We can have some time away from the oldies.' I smirked at Santana, focusing back on Lexie to see her nodding. 'Awesome. Come on…' I stuck out my hand, and she gently took it as she climbed off Brittany, who immediately pouted. Sofia would never do that with Britt, I think she was savoring the moment.

Once we got upstairs, we sat on Lexie's bed, facing each other with our legs crossed.

'Why did you come Lauren?' Lexie whispered. 'I mean, I don't mind, but why do we have to talk alone? I don't want to talk…'

'Because… We need to talk about this; you know… that way you reacted. I have experience with this sort of thing...' I trailed off, preparing myself.

'Experience?'

'Alex… I-I used to self-harm. Not a lot, and not for long, but I can relate to how you felt when you were holding the knife…'

'No, you don't!' She lashed out, shifting to hug her legs and press her face into her knees.

'You feel hurt. You're upset that your dad lied to you, and you now have to face the reality that he's going to die.' I said maybe a little bit too bluntly. 'You want to take away those feelings by hurting yourself in a different way. You feel numb, empty, like there is nothing left…' Her head snapped up.

'How…. How did you…'

'I self-harmed for a different reason, but I had those feelings too, and more. Why didn't you do it? I can guess, but tell me how you're feeling.'

'Santana found me first.'

'Ok… any other reasons?' I tried to prompt her, and she shrugged before shaking her head.

'Did you want to show Santana and Brittany how you felt? But you didn't know how say it, so that's why you done it.'

'I…Yeah, I guess…'

'You have people around you that can turn to Alex. You have your dad, Finn, Kurt, Burt, Carole…'

'I have you and Tana and Britt and Quinn too… and I guess Sofia…' She finished slowly.

'There are probably a few others too. And you know it. It was a cry for help. You're very lucky Alexandra Marie Goodson.'

'Yeah, I guess. What… what about you? Was it a cry for help too?'

'Umm…Not really.' I closed my eyes, before opening them and making eye contact with her again.

'I think… it was a little while after Blaine came out… we were being hurt, as you know, and it all got too much. This was before I met Sofia. I couldn't take it, I had to do something. I had been eating less, but it didn't seem enough. I had been thinking about it, even had a few razor blades stashed under my mattress. After one particularly bad day, dad had hurt both of us, and I had gotten a quite bad grade at school, one of my first, that made it worse… I-I was alone, so I took the chance. I grabbed a blade, and started self-harming. I was hoping that someone would find me, stop me I guess, stop the abuse… but no one ever came. So I carried on, and it worked. For a short while I guess. I had no one. Actually, I had Blaine, but I hid it from him. The only thing I've ever hid from him, at least since we were kids…' Silent tears were running down my face.

'Then… then what?' Alex asked after a moment's silence.

'My weight dropped and I went to the clinic… I got mostly better, got my own counselor, and met Sofia. We look out for each other, she knows to watch out for me self-harming, and I know to look out for her depression, that's why we work.'

'Would you ever do it again?'

'No. It was the low point of my life, I hated it. The feeling that went when I harmed came back twice as strong afterwards, and then you end up with these…' I moved my bracelets to show the fading scars '…Please, Alex, don't ever get that bad. If you ever feel like you will, talk. You need to talk. I know I can call Sofia at anytime of the day or night… talk to Santana, and she will be there for you in the same way. Actually, I'll just mention it to her for you… I would do it… but… but you need someone older, someone that can look after you…'

'You have Sofia; she's the same age as you.'

'Good point. But I ONLY have Sofia. You have a choice of people.'

'You're right Lauren…. Thanks. You didn't have to tell me everything, but you did. I will always appreciate it…'

'It's ok Lex…' I smiled, wiping my eyes. 'How do you feel now?'

'MUCH better, thanks.' She grinned widely, hugging me tightly.

'Good. C'mon, let's go tell Santana and Brittany how awesome they are for looking after you, and then hopefully we can go out for dinner. I'm starved.' Ok, I never thought I'd say _that _out loud anytime soon… apparently helping others can help you…

Quinn's POV

Santana and Brittany were sitting either side of me on the couch, and each of them had their heads on my shoulders. They were starting to yawn slightly. 'God you guys are like kids.'

'Hey!' Santana sat up, glaring at me with playful eyes, and Brittany just nodded.

'Everything wore you out, huh?'

'Yeah, it was kinda scary. But I'll be fine for dinner.'

'Me too.' Brittany grinned, sitting up herself as the girls came in; Lexie was grinning from ear to ear as she sat on my lap, I guess so she could be in between Santana and Brittany.

'You seem happier?' I asked her with a smirk.

'Yup! Thanks for bringing Lauren here Quinn, we had a great talk! And Santana and Brittany, thanks for earlier… I… I guess you handled it well…' Us three looked at each other, and smiled, before hugging her, and including Lauren in the group hug. It gave me the opportunity to whisper in her ear.

'Do you feel okay after that?' She nodded, with a slight smile… she seems okay, I'll have to have a conversation with her later about it.

'Soooo… dinner?' Lauren pulled out of the hug, with a mischievous smile.

'I thought you'd never ask!' Santana matched her look, both of them staring at me.

'Seriously guys? Why do you need my permission?' I paused. 'Go and get your coats.' I sighed, pretending to be strict… Lexie giggled as they cheered and ran off, and I glared at her with a smirk. 'You too boo.' I winked at her, and she ran up the stairs after the others.

'I'm paying for you guys.' Santana looked at me and Lauren over dinner, while Brittany and Lexie were in the bathroom. Lauren froze as she lifted her fork, staring at me with wide eyes, not knowing how to answer.

'Sant-'

'No, guys.' She interrupted me. 'I don't know what B and I would have done without you, especially you Lauren. I know you were doing it because you care about Lexie, but I feel the need to repay you. We were both shocked and scared, and by helping Lex, you put our minds at rest.' I looked at Lauren, and she shrugged, begging me to answer with her eyes. I nodded slightly, and she done so back in agreement.

'That's fair enough San, thanks.'

'You DO choose good food San.' Lauren added, grinning at Santana's laugh.

'Aaaaaaand we're back.' Lexie dropped back into her seat opposite Brittany, smirking as we all laughed at her.

We all got back to Lexie's house, and were lounging on the armchair and couch. Even though it was meant to be Lauren and I this evening, I could tell just by looking at Lauren that she's had a good time; I have too though. I think it would have been awkward actually; it's good to have the others round. I was on the couch, like before we left, but this time with Lauren and Lexie either side of me.

'Quinn, Brittany said we're gonna have a movie marathon with you guys, do you still wanna?'

'She did, did she? That sounds good!'

'We bought candy and sweets and more candy today in Columbus today, and loads of soda!'

'You aren't gonna sleep with all that sugar tonight…' I smirked at Santana as dread crossed her face for a second.

'I wiiiiiill.' She pouted.

'Okay… what movies do you have then?'

'Um, it depends what you wanna watch…'

'I bought some movies with me; I know what kinda films you guys would like!' Brittany jumped up excitedly.

'Right, I have: Clueless, Shrek, Grease, and The Princess Diaries.' She put the stack on the coffee table.

'Any movies to add Lex?'

'Um, Mary Poppins? Hotel for Dogs? Another Cinderella Story?' She shrugged. 'There's probably some more in the DVD cabinet.'

'Come on Britt, let's go sort out the snacks. Guys, choose a movie.' Santana stood up. 'Try not to argue!' She laughed as they walked out.

'What do you girls want to watch first?'

'Um, I don't mind…' Lexie shrugged again.

'Lauren?'

'Yeah, I don't mind either. But I would like to see Another Cinderella Story before the end of the night. My guilty pleasure!' She blushed, glancing at Lexie as she giggled.

'It is a good movie though.' Lex laughed.

'Right, Another Cinderella Story it is then! Go and sit down then, and I'll get it ready.' I went and put it in the player, laughing when I realized they left a space for me in between them again.

'All ready?' Brittany skipped in to the room, holding bags of crisps and sweets to her chest, in a few stacked plastic bowls. I'm guessing Santana didn't trust her to walk in with the stuff already in the bowls… they would have gone everywhere with her skipping…

'Yup, just waiting for Santana!'

'Gosh, I'm coming!' She rolled her eyes as she walked round the corner, holding a few cups and soda.

'Great! We're watching Another Cinderella Story first.' I smiled as I pressed play.

A few hours later – it was about midnight – Lauren and I finally got into our pajamas. 'Oooh, L, I wanted to talk to you about earlier…'

'What?' She raised an eyebrow at me as we sat on my bed.

'Weeeeell… how did the conversation with Lex go?'

'You saw how she was, it went well…'

'You know what I mean… how did you feel during it?'

'Well, it was real emotional, but it felt good to let it out.' She smiled. 'And then we went for dinner and watched loads of movies... It was a great night.' She yawned widely.

'I didn't see you eat much candy…'

'Well…' She went red. 'Dinner was really filling, I couldn't eat much…'

'You're right…' I smiled.

'I'm really tired…' Her eyes began to flutter, and she started to stand up.

'Hey, you might as well stay here then. C'mon, into bed!' I moved the quilt.

'No, it's okay Quinn I'll go into the guest bedroom.' She mumbled.

'It's late, get into bed.'

'Fine.' She rolled her eyes, before we both sunk into the mattress and pillows. Within seconds we were both asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A few weeks later...**_

Lauren's POV  
>We sat in the school bus, waiting to leave for Regional's. Well, we were all ready, but Mr Schue wanted us to be silent before we left. I don't know why, we're gonna start talking again as soon as we have left...<br>'Finally, guys! We can go.' He motioned for the driver to leave, and we finally started to move. 'San, Britt, cool it down please. That is not appropriate behaviour.' I turned to my left, and looked at the seat opposite mine where they were just pulling away from each other, Santana grumbling to herself about how unfair it was.  
>'Already guys? Jeeeeez...you guys just can't keep your hands off each other!' I smirked. Quinn laughed at Lexie from behind them when she giggled, her eyes widening when Santana turning to look at them.<br>'What?'  
>'Nothing...' Lexie giggled again.<br>'You're such a brat...'  
>'Hey!' Santana winked at her, before going to sit down again.<br>'Pretty sure this is the weirdest bus journey I've ever been on, and we are only 10minutes in!' Sofia grinned, leaning back into her seat.

'Hey Beautiful.' I heard as someone hugged me from behind as we were waiting to go in to the venue. Sofia looked at me, with an eyebrow raised, but I shrugged it off and turned around to see my boyfriend.  
>'Riker!' I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my head in his chest. I felt him laugh a little. 'How are you?'<br>'I'm much better now you are here!' He said booping my nose. 'Are you excited about performing?'  
>'Um, yeah...I'm a little nervous, actually.'<br>'You'll be fine, babe. Just look out for me in the audience, I'll make you feel better.'  
>'You always do, Rikey.' I grinned at him, and he kissed me lightly on the lips.<br>'Lauren!' Mr Schuester suddenly called. I rolled my eyes, before turning to him. 'We've got to go find our green room. Come on.'  
>'Damn I've got to go.'<br>'Okay... I'll text you Lauren, Good and don't worry, your gonna rock it! Good luck.' He kissed my cheek, before I walked back to the group.  
>'LAUREN!' Everyone like shouted, most of them looking excited and shocked for me, except for Rachel, who was scowling, and Quinn, who knows all about us.<br>'Jeez guys, leave me alone.' I laughed, and we headed inside.

Santana's POV  
>After we got changed into our competition outfits, we went to sit down, and the event was just being announced. We were against the Warblers, who were starting, and some random choir group called the 'Golden Goblets'. What a stupid name. Just as the presenter left the stage, Blaine, Kurt, and the Warblers ran on stage, and Blaine and Kurt began to sing together. As usual, their harmonies were perfect. All of us stood up and cheered them, and when I looked at Lauren, she looked spellbound.<br>'You okay Lauren?' I leant over Lexie to talk to her.  
>'Yeah... they are just amazing aren't they! I love watching my boyfriend perform.' She grinned. I glanced at Lex, who had a slightly grimaced look on her face.<br>'Don't worry darl, not long until you get a boyfriend.'  
>'Ugh no thanks, not yet.' She frowned, and I chuckled.<br>'Kurt's good, isn't he kiddo?'  
>'Yup! He and Blaine are so good together.' She grinned.<p>

Once they had finished, the blonde surfer dude kid, Lauren's boyfriend, walked forward. We all glanced at Lauren, and her eyes were wide; she blushed as he winked at her, and Blaine and Kurt pointed at her.  
>'Why are they pointing at me?' She looked at me questioningly.<br>'I don't know!'  
>'If I may interrupt...According to show choir terms, it means that the song's dedicated to you.' Artie piped up from the other side of Sofia, who was next to Lauren.<br>'Ahh, okaaaaay.' Lauren looked very unsure about this.  
>'That's totally awesome!' Sofia nodded. 'Riker's cute, you're lucky!'<br>'Riker...' Brittany looked thoughtful for a moment. 'Lauren and Riker... Liker! That's your couple name!'  
>'Yeah, I guess it is!' Lauren turned back to the stage as Riker began.<br>'You like mismatched socks with polka dots...' He sang, and Lauren smiled softly.

As the warblers finished and left the stage, we began to make our way down behind the stage.  
>'Are you ready, kiddo?' I asked Lexie as we were about to go on.<br>'I'm kinda nervous Tana.' She pouted up at me.  
>'You'll be great.' I hugged her.<br>'I have to be good, because Daddy's in the audience.'  
>'He'll be proud of you no matter what.'<br>'Are you sure?'  
>'I promise, my darling. You'll smash it.' She smiled softly as the call for us rang out. 'Once we're off stage, I'll give you a big hug, okay?'<br>'Kay!' She giggled, before we filed on stage.

Kurt's POV  
>The New Directions came out and stood in formation, singing the first harmonising lines to 'Good Time'. Once those had finished, Lauren walked forward, beginning the first verse; me, Blaine, and Riker, all got on our feet and cheered.<br>_Woke up on the right side of the bed..._  
>The whole crowd cheered, she was amazing! The other side of the formation opened, and Lexie came out to sing the next part of the verse.<br>_Slept in my clothes like I didn't care..._  
>She was so good!<br>'Aww, how cute is Lex looking?' Blaine smiled.  
>'I know! Her and your sisters voices sound amazing together.'<br>'I'm so proud of them!' He took out his phone, taking a picture of them as they sang the next verse together, and the rest of the group began to move forward to sing and dance the chorus together, with Britt and Mike as the dance leads, as usual.  
>'Hey Kurt!' Mr Schue came and sat in his seat behind me.<br>'Hi Mr Schuester! Good song choice, the girls are killing it!'  
>'Thanks, I thought they were good together. And I thought the song would be good for both of them.'<br>'You're right.' I nodded.

Quinn's POV  
>I stood near the wall as we waited in the reception area, waiting for the results. I watched as everyone mingled, smiling as my gaze landed on Lauren and Riker. They are so good together, and Lauren has been way happier since meeting him.<br>'Hey Blondie.' I rolled my eyes as I heard Santana's voice to the left of me; I turned to find her and Brittany, holding hands.  
>'Hi. Where's Lex?' Santana has barely let the girl get out of her sight since the knife incident.<br>'She's with her dad.' She smiled, pointing over at them.  
>'Ahh right. How's she getting on?'<br>'She's been okay, a little more clingy than usual, but that's about it.' She shrugged. 'Anyway, how are you? I feel like we haven't talked in ages.'  
>'I know! We have to have another girls' night with Lauren and Lex soon.' I smiled. 'I'm good, thanks.'<br>'What about after we get back to Lima? We can try out that new pizza place.' Brittany suggested with a hopeful grin.  
>'Hey, that place looks good!' Santana nodded.<br>'I'll text the kids.' I laughed, pulling out my phone. 'Girlies, B, San and I were talking about having some girl time... Up for it? Thinking about having pizza w/ we're back in Lima today, Q x' I giggled when I watched Lexie look up her dad with a pleading face, before feeling my phone buzz at Lauren's reply.  
>'Yeahh that's good... I feel like some girl time... :D x' I glanced over at her, and winked when she smiled at me.<br>'Really, you mean it?' Lexie appeared at my side, with a wide smile.  
>'Yup, I guess you're coming?' I smirked.<br>'Yay! I can't wait Quinn!' She threw her arms around me.  
>'Hey, what about me, sweetie?' Brittany pouted, and I rolled my eyes when Lex went to hug her too.<p>

Lauren's POV  
>We stood on stage in a little huddle, with Mr Schue. Riker and I kept glancing at each other, and I tried not to laugh when some of his team mates poked him to keep his attention.<br>'Ok, and now it is time for the results. The team that came third is...' The announcer began. I felt Quinn grab my hand, and I shot her a smile as he continued. 'The Golden Goblets!'  
>'Yes! Whatever happened, we've placed!' Quinn whispered, and I squeezed her hand, while Blaine winked at me from across the stage.<br>'And the 2012 Midwest Regional show choir champions are... from William Mckinley high: the New Directions!'  
>'Ahhhh!' All of us screamed excitedly.<br>'We won!' Quinn and I hugged tightly, as Santana done the same to Lexie.  
>'I'm sooo happy!' I grinned at Q, and she nodded her agreement.<br>'It was your duet with Lex; it was so cute and pure.' She smiled at Blaine, Riker, and Kurt as they came over to us.  
>'Well done Lauren!' They all put their arms around me.<br>'You rocked that performance, you deserve to win!' Riker kissed me, before he got pulled away by Nick. 'I'll call you, babe!'  
>'Okay Ri!' I called back, before miming: 'Love you!' He done the same back, before he got completely off stage... oh yeah, we're still on stage... I turned around, laughing when I saw Santana give Lexie a piggy back ride, the two laughing loudly; I smirked when Mr Schue grabbed his camera from his pocket and take a picture of them, without them knowing.<br>'Mr S!' Quinn called him over, grabbing me for a photo. I smiled for the first one, before leaning up and kissing Quinn on the cheek... I'm pretty sure he took a third photo of her looking at me, stunned.

Santana's POV  
>'Are we nearly there yet Tana?' Lexie asked in the back of my car... Britt looked at me, smirking.<br>'Lima's not that big Lex, we're always gonna be pretty close.'  
>'So... Are we nearly there yet?' I rolled my eyes at her.<br>'Not yet, sweetie.' I laughed when Quinn pulled up next to me at the traffic lights, both her and Lauren dancing in their seats while waiting for the green light. Brittany took out her phone, quickly getting a recording of them.  
>'Gonna put that on Fondue.' She grinned.<br>'You do that, babe.' I winked at her.

I smiled at Lexie when she got out the car, her hand slipping into mine as we began to walk over to Quinn's car with Brittany.  
>'Can I sit with you Tana?' She whispered, leaning against me as we walked.<br>'You sit with me every time we're together kiddo, you can now! I love your flowery dress, it's very pretty!'  
>'Thanks Tana.' She giggled as we reached the pair<br>'I like it too!' Lauren grinned. 'I think your matching Converse are awesome too!' Lex smiled softly at her, blushing.  
>'Let's go in!' Brittany shouted, practically bouncing on the spot.<br>'Okay, babe.' I laughed, following her and Quinn inside.

Lauren's POV  
>I laughed at Santana when Lexie dropped onto her lap, smirking when she rolled her eyes.<br>'Lex? You can only sit on my lap until the food comes, okay?'  
>'Okay Tana.' Lexie nodded. Her face dropped when the waitress came back a few minutes later, holding our large pepperoni pizza and putting it on the table.<br>'Go sit down sweetie.' Santana pointed Lex to sit in her seat, who did so unhappily. 'Everyone grab a slice.'  
>'Mmm!' Brittany bit into hers, smiling widely.<br>'SO good!' Quinn nodded. I picked my piece up, nibbling it to see what it was like... Okay, it's amazing. I took a big bite; I'm pretty sure this is the best pizza I've ever had.  
>*BUZZ BUZZ*<br>'Dammit I have a call.' I frowned as I pulled out my cell, noticing who it was. 'It's my dad… I'd better answer.' I said as I walked outside.

'Hey Dad.'  
>'Lauren, where are you? Blaine came home half an hour ago.' Shit I didn't tell him where I was going…<br>'Sorry Dad, I'm out with some friends, we're… celebrating!'  
>'Celebrating?'<br>'Oh… Didn't Blaine tell you?' I tried to sound upbeat. 'My team won!'  
>'Right. Good!' I'm sure he's happy because his daughter has another achievement… 'Well I wanted to talk to you about something that's happening in a couple of weekend's time. But I'm sure Blaine will tell you all about it when you get home.'<br>'But that's my bir-'  
>'Goodbye Lauren, text me on your way home.' He cut me off! I huffed as I headed back inside.<p>

'Everything okay Laur?' Quinn looked at me with lovingly questioning eyes.  
>'Um, yeah… but he was saying something about my birthday weekend, I don't know what though, I think he was annoyed because I didn't tell him I was coming here…'<br>'That's… not good.' She frowned. I shrugged, before feeling my phone buzz; looking down, I saw a text from Blaine.  
>'Hey did he tell you sis? X'<br>'No, he said you will… something about my birthday weekend? X' I replied quickly.  
>'Yeah… he's gonna be away for work, both of them… they're missing your sweet sixteen, Laur… x'<br>'WHAT?! That is SO not fair, it's my birthday! :( oh well we'll have to celebrate together… x' I put my phone on the table, leaning back in my seat unhappily.  
>'What's wrong, L?' Quinn placed her hand over mine, speaking quietly.<br>'Uh… my parents, apparently they're going to be away on my birthday weekend.' I pouted.  
>'That suc-' She began, interrupted by a loud Brittany.<br>'Partyyyy!' She sung, looking hopeful.  
>'I think that's a good idea… I need to talk to Blaine, but I'm sure he'll be fine with it. Maybe my parents being away will be a good thing...' I grinned, high-fiving her over the table.<p>

I lay in bed later that night, about to fall asleep, when my phone lit up. I blurrily looked at my phone, grinning when I realized that it was Riker.  
>'Hey Beautiful, I know it's late, but wanna do something tomorrow? Xx'<br>'Ri! I would love to, but I've got church in the morning, and my parents want us to play happy family and spend time together and your still not exactly in my dad's good books... :('  
>'Ahh that sucks… good luck with that xx'<br>'Thanks baby, I'm gonna need it xx'  
>':) I'll let you get to sleep now darling, speak tomorrow xx'<br>'Hopefully, goodnight Ri xx' I turned off my phone for the night, smiling to myself. I have the best boyfriend.

Lexie's POV  
>I stood next to my dad in the queue at the Lima Bean, waiting for our drinks.<br>'Here's one cappuccino and one hot chocolate.' The barista put the cups on the counter, in front of my dad.  
>'I'll take them for you, Daddy.' I picked them up.<br>'Thank you Lex.' He smiled, leading us to a couple of comfortable seats by the wall.  
>'So what do you wanna do today Daddy?'<br>'I just want to stay here for a while and spend some time with you, baby.' He smiled, taking a sip of his coffee.  
>'Oh… okay.' I flashed him a smile, but I could tell something was… off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but… it's off…<p>

'I'm just going to the bathroom; I'll be back in two minutes darling.' Dad stood up.  
>'Okay Daddy.' I nodded. I frowned when a blonde girl came and stood next to me; she looked kinda familiar…<br>'Um, hi?'  
>'Are you Lexie?' She narrowed her eyes at me, smirking when I nodded. 'I'm Kitty, I go to McKinley.'<br>'Okay… so… what did you want?' I frowned at her.  
>'I've seen you in school and how you act. I just wanted to tell you to grow. The hell. Up!' She bent down towards me. 'You're a baby. You need to act your age.'<br>'But… I don't… understand….'  
>'Just grow up… and you'd better not tell anyone about this.' She smiled as my dad sat down again. 'See you at school, Lexie!' She said in a friendly way, raising an eyebrow at me until I replied.<br>'Bye Kitty.' I smiled, sighing with relief when she walked away again.

Lauren's POV  
>I smiled at Blaine as Dad put the board game away, both of us wanting the day to end. We've been playing stupid games all day, the biggest one was that we were a happy family, it was tiring.<br>'Um, I'm tired Dad.' I bit my lip. 'I'm going to have a shower and then go to bed, if that's okay?'  
>'That's fine Lauren.' He nodded; I quickly ran up the stairs, into my bedroom to get some pyjamas. I took off my blue Hollister hoodie, and slid off my bracelets and wristbands, before going to grab a couple towels from the hallway cupboard.<p>

After my shower, I walked back into my room in my sleep gear, jumping when I saw Blaine sitting on my bed.  
>'Jesus Blaine, don't do that... what's up?'<br>'Just wanted to talk, Laur.' He stood up and closed my door. 'You've seemed… off all day. Not a bad off, but… I don't know, I guess thoughtful…'  
>'I was thinking of my birthday. I was talking about it with Q and the others yesterday, and we had the idea of a party…' I half-whispered.<br>'Brittany?' He smirked.  
>'Well… yeah… but I didn't think it was a bad idea. What do you think?'<br>'It's your birthday, Lauren, it's up to you.'  
>'Well I like it so I'm saying yes.' He grinned at this. 'You can invite the Warblers.' Namely Riker. 'And I'll get Sofia to invite the cheerleaders and their boyfriends. We'll make it the party of the year!'<br>'Ok, don't get too carried away! How are we gonna get alcohol or whatever though Laur?'  
>'…I'll figure that out…' I narrowed my eyes when he laughed. 'Anyway, get out, I need my sleep.' I gently pushed him away, laughing when he held his hands up in surrender.<br>'Night sis.' He kissed my cheek, before walking over to his room.

'How do you feel about a party?' I said as I caught up with Sofia at the front of the school.  
>'Whatcha mean?'<br>'My birthday, next weekend. My parents are away, so we're throwing a party.'  
>'Awesome, I'm in.'<br>'Great. Could you try getting some Cheerio's turn up as well please? Hoping to make it a big event…'  
>'Yeah I'll try.' She grinned.<br>'Thanks Sof.' I put my arm through hers, beginning to walk to our lockers.

Lexie's POV  
>I smiled at Santana and Brittany when they walked towards my locker, meeting me there.<br>'Hey guys!' I giggled when they both hugged me at the same time, practically squashing me in between them.  
>'How was your day out with your daddy yesterday?' Santana asked, putting her arm around my shoulders as we walked down the corridor.<br>'It was awesome, thanks. We went to the Lima Bean, and just hung out.' I grinned, sighing when we reached the Spanish room.  
>'Come on; let's hang out in here until the bell goes.' Brittany smiled.<br>'Yeah, come on kiddo.' Santana grabbed my hand, dragging me in there. I turned just enough to see Kitty smirk at me from the doorway.

I left the Spanish room just after Britt and San as I had to sort out some stuff in my bag. As I left I saw Kitty still standing with a few other Cheerio's in the hall.  
>"Ohh look its little baby Lexie-Wexie, do you need and help carrying all those big girl books?" Kitty spoke up as I tried to walk past. "Hey! Dora the explorer, I'm talking to you! It's not very polite to ignore people; didn't your daddy ever teach you that?" Kitty came and stood directly in front of me, blocking the path.<br>"Leave me alone Kitty! I'm just trying to get to class!" I said trying to get around.  
>"Look Lexie, no one likes the way you get babied around here, especially me, and when I don't like something I'm gonna do something about it. So you'd better grow the hell up, or I will make your life a living hell, okay?" While she was speaking I slowly backed away looking for an escape to only end up against the lockers.<p>

Lauren's POV  
>I walked around the corner, late to lesson as always, when I saw Kitty all over Lexie.<br>'Kitty! What are you doing? Leave her alone!' She turned around with a big, fake smile on her face.  
>'Ohhh… we were just having a nice chat, weren't we Lexie?' Lex just looked at the ground. 'Anyway, standing with you losers is having a major effect on my rep.' And with that, she walked away, a few Cheerio's following. I turned my attention back to Lex.<br>'You okay, Lex?'  
>'She told me I had to grow up… I don't wanna grow up Lauren! I'm happy being me!' I could see she was holding back tears.<br>'Hey, Lexie, look at me. You don't have to grow up for anyone, okay? We all love you just the way you are. Here, I'll walk you to class.' I held out my hand to her, which she gladly took, with a smile on her face.  
>'Okay… Thank you Lauren…'<br>'No problem Lex, you're family.'

After school finished, I met up with Quinn at her locker.  
>'Hey Laur!' She grinned, putting her arm through mine as we began to walk along the corridor.<br>'Hey! Ugh why are we going around yours again?' I asked as we walked out the doors and towards her car.  
>'Well I'm going there because it's my home.' She smirked.<br>'Very funny…'  
>'I don't know why you're coming though. As far as I know, it's just for dinner.' She shrugged. 'Anyway, how was your day?'<br>'Meh, the usual.' I rolled my eyes. 'Found Kitty up all over Lexie's business earlier, though.'  
>'What? What was she saying?'<br>'I don't know exactly… But Lex was kinda shaken up about it… Apparently Kitty was telling her to grow up or something.'  
>'But… Lexie's the baby of our group, she can't grow up!' Q frowned. 'We'll have to keep an eye on them…' She shook her head, climbing into the driver's seat.<p>

'Um, may Lauren and I be excused?' Quinn said across the dinner table after we had both finished eating.  
>'Of course you can, Quinnie!' Judy smiled. I silently sighed in relief as I stood up, avoiding my dad's gaze. He didn't look too happy about Judy letting us go like that, he wouldn't have done… We ran up the stairs, going to lie on Quinn's bed. I lay on my back, half asleep, when Quinn poked me in my side. I looked at her, sitting up properly when I realized she had my phone, pointing at my lock screen background, a picture of me and Riker together<br>'Quinn!'  
>'So, how are you and Riker getting on?'<br>'We're doing so good right now.' I lay back down again with a smile. 'He's just… perfect.'  
>'When was the last time you done something with him?'<br>'Jeez, questioning much?' I smirked. 'Friday night. I told my parents that I was hanging out with Sofia, and Riker and I went to a small little Greek restaurant in Columbus. It was such an awesome night. We ate, obviously, and talked, and then went to the park to look at the stars. It was so lovely and Riker is just the best.'  
>'You seem really happy with him; I'm so glad! You really deserve him, Laur.'<br>'Never mind me, how's your love life going?'  
>'It's not.' She laughed, hitting me with a pillow. 'I'm concentrating on getting my grades for college. Ooh can I tell you a secret?'<br>'Of course!'  
>'I've pretty much been accepted to Yale. As long as I don't completely flunk my finals, I'm in.'<br>'OH MY GOSH QUINN! That's amazing! Well done!' I threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly.

Santana's POV  
>The next day, I walked into the Spanish classroom to help with the freshman class second period. Sitting down in my usual seat next to Lexie's spot, I smiled at Mr Schuester.<br>'Hey Mr Schue!'  
>'Hi Santana. I'm so grateful for you helping me with this; you're doing an excellent job!' I felt my cheeks going red.<br>'Thanks Mr S, it means a lot to hear that. I actually really enjoy helping you with this. I like spreading my language and culture to others… it kinda makes me proud.'  
>'You should be, Santana.' He smiled, turning back to his computer as the door opened, Lexie walking through a second later, looking a bit dazed.<br>'You alright, Lex?'  
>'I'm okay Tana.' She smiled. 'Your training session was really good earlier.' She's pretty much become the unofficial mascot of the Cheerio's now, because she always tags along with B and I to training.<br>'Did you do your homework?' I asked as she sat down next to me.  
>'Most of it…' She put it on the table.<br>'Most? You've done less than half of it! Did you find it hard?' I frowned, and she squirmed in her seat a little.  
>'I got… distracted.' She pouted.<br>'You've got five minutes… work on it until the bell goes.' I raised an eyebrow at her, smirking when she nodded.

About halfway through the lesson, the kids were doing group work when Mr Schue made his way towards the classroom door, where Miss Pillsbury was standing. When his face dropped, I walked over there to see what they were talking about.  
>'Hey, what's going on?'<br>'Lexie's dad… he wants her at the hospice.' Miss P shook her head… shit. That can only mean one thing.  
>'I'll take her.'<br>'Santana, I don't think that's the best idea…' Mr Schue frowned.  
>'Will, it might be for the best, Lexie looks up to Santana. Go on.' She nodded at me as I turned around, walking over to the desk. I knelt down, so I would be face to face with Lexie when she turned around.<br>'Alex…' She looked at me, going pale when she saw my face.  
>'T-tana?'<br>'We have to go… Come on…' I picked up both of our bags, taking her hand to walk out of the room.  
>'Where are we going?' I looked at her, my heart dropping as she stared up at me. She's going to be devastated.<br>'…To the hospice. Your dad wants to see you.'  
>'But… but that means…' Her eyes widened, and her hand squeezed mine tightly.<br>'I know, darling.' I helped her into my car. 'Once we're there, I'm going to wait for you outside, okay? I'm not going to leave.'  
>'T-t-thank you…' She nodded, looking out of the window as I began to drive.<p>

As we got to the front door of the hospice, I saw Burt waiting in the reception area.  
>'Time to go in, Alex.' I said as we walked inside.<br>'I'm scared, Tana.' She whispered, leaning into me.  
>'You have every right to be, darling. I'll wait out here for you, so if you need me, you know where I am, okay?'<br>'Okay Tana.' She nodded, accepting my hug before walking down the corridor to Mr Goodson's room with Burt. I went to sit down in the reception area chairs to wait for her.

About two hours later, I heard a door close from down the corridor, and I looked up, to see Lexie slowly walking towards me. She looked totally pale, and was shaking; I sat up as she came closer. She collapsed into my lap, and began to sob as I wrapped my arms around her, rocking her slightly.  
>'T-t-tana…' She shuddered out.<br>'Don't worry baby, you don't need to talk. Just let it all out.' I rubbed her back as I saw the Hummel-Hudson's walk out of the room, all of them looking super sad. Carole was crying, and Burt nodded at me they walked past, telling me with his expression that he trusts me looking after Lexie for a while. 'Shall we go see your aunt?' I spoke quietly, sighing when she shook her head. I stood up with her in my arms, walking towards my car again. I'll take her to my house, where we can just relax.

On the way home, Lexie's tears went in cycles; she would stop crying, have some shuddery breaths, before bursting into tears again. By the time I pulled into my driveway, she was at the point of hysteria.  
>'We're here now Lex.' I said quietly, walking inside with her, and sitting her on the couch.<br>'Tana?'  
>'Yes sweetie?' I looked at her, and her face crumpled. 'I'm just going to get you a glass of water, sweetheart.'<br>'Kay.' She curled up, sucking her thumb. Poor kid. I walked into the kitchen, grabbing a sports bottle, and filling it with cool water.  
>'Here you go kiddo.' I said, sitting down next to her.<br>'Thanks Tana.' She whispered, gratefully taking the drink.  
>'I know what happened today was your worst nightmare, but we'll get through it okay? We'll make you feel as normal as possible, no matter how long it takes.' She nodded at me, snuggling into my side.<p>

Lauren's POV  
>I came slightly late for glee, noticing that the room looked kinda empty.<br>'Sorry I'm late Mr Schue… what's going on?'  
>'Sit down Lauren.' He pointed to the chairs. Once I had sat down, he stood in front of everyone, taking a deep breath. 'Today, during second period, Lexie was called out of Spanish. Her father, Mr Goodson, passed away this afternoon.' Oh… I can't believe it… Tom… He was so nice and sweet...can't…'I need a minute...' I stood up, running out of the room, trying to fight my tears. I need to hold myself together…<br>'Lauren!' I heard Brittany behind me, so I turned to look at her. 'Do you need to get to Blaine Warbler?'  
>'Uh, yeah.'<br>'I'll drive you, come on.' She put her arm round me. 'It's okay to cry; I know you were close to the family.'  
>'Thanks Britt.' I smiled at her. 'Hey, where's San?'<br>'She took Lexie to the hospice this morning… Lex is with her now, actually. She didn't want to go back home, to the Hudmel's, so San took her to her house.'  
>'Oh!' Santana loves Lexie; I think she just feels this need to look after her… I do too, but I have to look after myself…<br>'I'll drive you there after picking up your brother.'  
>'Thanks B.' I nodded, climbing into her car while texting Blaine where to meet us.<p>

'Go on.' Brittany nodded over to Blaine as she stopped in front of Dalton. 'I'll wait here… go tell him what he needs to know.' I quickly leant over and hugged her; she knows just what to say sometimes.  
>'Lauren!' Blaine ran over to me as I climbed out of the car. 'What… why is Britt picking me up?'<br>'Blainey!' I burst into tears, sobbing more when he tightly hugged me.  
>'Laurie, what happened?'<br>'Tom… he… he died…'  
>'Oh my gosh! The time came, huh?' I looked up at him, and a few tears ran down his face. 'Where's Lexie?'<br>'She's round Santana's. She went to the hospice, and then didn't want to go home, so Santana took her to her house I think. I'm going round there to see her, are you coming?' I asked as we got into the car.  
>'Britt, can you drop me round Kurt's please?'<br>'Yeah, of course Blaine Warbler.' She grinned. 'I'll take you there, and then we'll go to San's, Lauren.'  
>'Okay Britt!'<p>

Once Blaine had been dropped off, Brittany turned the corner on her way to San's house.  
>'Are you okay Lauren?'<br>'Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. It's going to be hard to see Lexie though.'  
>'I know, that girl's had a hard day. We'll be synthetic to her, but still act normal.'<br>'I think you mean sympathetic, Britt, but you're right, we don't want to make her feel weird as well as sad.'  
>'Totally! If we act normal around her, it might make her feel a bit better as well.' Brittany nodded as she parked behind Santana's car on her driveway, both of us taking deep breaths before making our way to the front door. We walked in, and Lexie was curled into Santana's side, sniffling with red eyes.<br>'Lexie…' I bent down in front of her, kissing her cheek, and then hugging her tightly.

A couple of hours later, we had watched most of a random teen movie, just to keep our mind off things. I'm pretty sure none of us actually watched it though, unsurprisingly.  
>'I wanna go home.' Lexie suddenly whispered, looking at the ground.<br>'Okay, darling. Get your shoes on, and then we'll get going.' Santana smiled softly, helping her stand up.  
>'San, we'll use my car, I blocked you in earlier.' Brittany nodded.<br>'Okay babe.' She leant over and kissed her lightly. 'Ready to go, Lex?'  
>'Yeah.' She whispered, clutching at Santana's hand as we walked out.<p>

Santana's POV  
>I knocked on the Hudmel's door, nodding at Burt when he answered, Lauren walking past me to get to her brother.<br>'Lexie, your Aunt Carole's in our bedroom, if you want to see her.'  
>'I'm going to my bedroom.' She whispered, walking up the stairs a second later as Burt turned to me.<br>'Thank you for looking after her this afternoon, Santana. It was probably better for her to be away from us lot; how was she?'  
>'How do you think?' I shook my head. 'She was hysterical earlier, but as she ran out of tears, she just became extremely quiet and clingy. But she was coping well in the fact that she wasn't screaming or near suicidal or anything. We'll wait and see though…'<br>'It must have been tough on you to look after a hysterical fourteen year old… You're looking tired.'  
>'Ya, I am, I better be going. Just let Lex know that she can call me, whenever she needs me, even if it's to get away from the family, no offence.'<br>'None taken, I understand. I'll let her know, thank you again.' He quickly hugged me, before I got back into Brittany's car.

Lauren's POV  
>Glee the next day was surreal. Finn wasn't there, and neither was Lexie, so it seemed really empty. It was really quiet as well, we were all thinking about poor Lex. After all of us had got into the room, Mr Schue walked in with of all people, Kitty. Great.<br>'Everybody… I know our minds are all thinking about Lexie's dad right now, but I hope you can welcome our new member Kitty!' Quinn and I shared a look. This is going to be fun.  
>'Mr Schue, can I say something?' Puck stood up.<br>'Of course, Puck, go ahead.'  
>'So, I think we should sing to Lexie. We can try getting her to come in on Friday afternoon, go on the stage in the auditorium, and sing to her, just like we used to do back in our first year.'<br>'That's a good idea!' I nodded. 'What song?'  
>'See, I'm not sure about that. I was thinking we could maybe do one that suits the situation, but then again, maybe one that cheers her up. What do y'all think?'<br>'Why not both? A sad one, followed by a Selena Gomez song.' I suggested, and then everyone started to talk together about it.

'Hey.' Santana caught up with me afterwards.  
>'Hi San. Are you still able to pick up Blaine?'<br>'Yeah, of course. Where am I dropping you off afterwards?'  
>'Um, the Hudmel's please.' Kurt still insists on cooking for us, even though the family's in a bad place right now.<br>'Awesome. Can you let me know how Lex is please?'  
>'Yeah, I'll text you. You really care about her, don't you?'<br>'She's still a little kid at heart; I feel the need to look after her. I guess it's because I've always wanted a little sister, so…'  
>'Well she needs someone to look out for her… someone other than Finn, at least.'<br>'I agree.' She laughed. 'I'm glad Kurt is there though, he's been through it himself.'  
>'Hmm, definitely.' I nodded as Brittany joined us in the car.<p>

Blaine, Kurt, Finn and I sat in the den, talking.  
>'So, what's the plan for your party, Laur?' Kurt asked as he handed us sodas.<br>'Um, well my parents are going away on Friday, so Blaine and I are going to decorate that night and Saturday morning, but I think we need your designing help! Quinn's gonna help with food, and is staying round overnight to help clean up. Puck's bagging a load of drinks.'  
>'Oh nice! We'll have to make sure no one gets to the point of throwing up, then.'<br>'Hopefully, I don't want to be clearing that up!' I grimaced.  
>'What's happening about the McKinley Senior ditch day, Finn?'<br>'We're going to Six Flags. Are you coming, Lauren?'  
>'I'm… not a Senior, Finn.'<br>'McKinley have a tradition that states if a club has a lot of senior members, then as long as they go as a group, the whole club can come.'  
>'Awesome! Yes, I'm coming!'<br>'Dalton has a similar tradition. Each senior gets to choose two other pupils from the school, and then they get the day off too… If you don't mind, can we tag along to Six Flags with you?' Kurt took Blaine's hand.  
>'That'll be nice, yeah.' Finn nodded.<br>'Then I'll choose Riker to come too.' He looked at me.  
>'Ahh thanks Kurt!' I went and hugged him.<p>

'Hey Lexie…' I slowly walked into her bedroom, immediately noticing that the curtains were still closed.  
>'Lauren?' She was backed into the corner of the room, sitting on the bed and hugging her legs. I went to sit next to her, smiling softly when she rested her head on my shoulder.<br>'How ya feeling, Lex?'  
>'Sad.' She pouted. 'And tired.'<br>'Tired? What have you been doing?' I asked, gently running my fingers through her hair.  
>'Nothing. But I couldn't sleep last night, I tried, but I kept thinking about… things, so I couldn't.' She sighed.<br>'Well, I guess that's to be expected.' Her stomach rumbled. 'Have you eaten today?'  
>'Umm... well not exactly...'<br>'Come Lex...you need to eat...I know you're sad right now but you need to look after yourself too...'  
>'I know Lauren, but everything just hurts...'<br>'Ok, how about I'll go make some popcorn and we can watch some mindless TV? Do you think you can manage that?'  
>'I think so...'<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Sofia's POV

Part of me felt bad for being jealous of the support that Lexie was receiving from the Glee club. When they found out about the death of her father they all rallied around her, especially Lauren, who was yet to notice me slipping into depression. Lately I had been skipping my lessons, and would hide in the choir room, where I would remain completely unnoticed until Glee club would start.

I had just slipped into the choir room when I heard sniffles in the far corner. Looking, I saw Lexie curled up in the back of the room, using a crumpled up tissue to wipe away tears from her obviously red eyes. She hadn't noticed me entering, so I whispered softly 'Lex, are you okay sweetheart?'

I knew she wasn't, but part of me wanted to keep that option open… maybe she'd say she was, and I could keep up my pitiful charade of not caring about the innocent young girl. She shook her head; I couldn't stop myself hugging her. I let her rest on my shoulder as she carried on crying, it brought back memories of comforting my baby sister. My Alex.

I knew instantly what I should do. I'd heard Santana and Britt talking about Lex and the knife, and I couldn't let another incident like that ever occur.

'Lexie, sweetie, look at me: you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you… but I know how you feel… Remember I told you about my twin, my baby sister? She killed herself, my parents blamed me, and I felt so alone. You have the Glee club, you have me, and we're here to support you.' She looked up at me, confused.

'I thought you hated me... I'm so alone Sofia, I want my daddy back… I-I can't cope without him!' I soothed her, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly.

'I know baby, just remember you are never alone; we're all here for you, and your daddy is watching over you. He's a precious star in the sky and he's happy and healthy once more… you have to stay alive for him, he won't want to see his baby girl hurting.' She seemed shocked at my sudden act of kindness. 'I don't hate you, you know. I only got the Cheerios to Slushee you because Rachel caught me in a moment of weakness. In all honesty I care about you, you remind me of my sister Alexandra so much, and I miss her so badly… You can't tell Lauren this, but I've tried to kill myself so I can join her… it doesn't work, you just feel worse… a lot worse.' I tried to carry on, but the small girl had pulled me closer into her as I began to sob maniacally.

We stayed in that position for what seemed like hours, until suddenly the doors to the choir room were swung open, and I pulled myself out of her arms. 'Alex I'm sorry about your dad, but it was bound to happen.' I said coldly as I returned to my usual seat, a few people also sitting down.

'Sofia!' Brittany frowned. 'That's mean!'

'Whatever.' I mumbled, narrowing my eyes towards Lexie as she sat on Santana's lap, making sure I looked my normal self to everyone else in the room. Lexie looked towards me confused.

'Hey.' Lauren came and stood next to me. 'What's wrong?'

'What do you mean? Nothing.'

'You've been crying.'

'What? No I haven't, you're going crazy.' I shook my head at her, pretending to be completely confused.

'Okaaay…' She frowned at me, shrugging before walking over to Lex and hugging her; I rolled my eyes, slouching in my seat before Glee properly started.

'Hi everybody!' Mr Schue stood by the piano. 'So, we welcome back Lexie!' He grinned at her as everyone applauded her return.

'Yay Lexie!' Brittany cheered. She's never acted like that with me… not that I let her…

'Lexie, Puck organized a surprise for you; we have to go to the auditorium though.'

'Kay.' She whispered letting Santana lead her out of the room as the rest of us stood up.

'Hey Sofia.' Kitty walked beside me.

'Hi, Kitty, how's it going? What made you join Glee?'

'I just felt like it.' She shrugged, rolling her eyes as Santana gave Lexie a piggy back to carry her to the auditorium.

'You don't like Lexie?' I asked with a smirk.

'Not particularly… she's just so… babyish.' She scowled, and I laughed.

'Yeah, she is! Right now she's grieving so I understand, but that doesn't explain in general.'

'Exactly, thanks! It's really annoying.' I laughed, settling into a comfortable conversation with her as we walked down the corridor.

Lauren's POV

I walked onto the stage behind Santana, most of the club sitting on stalls. Lexie was sitting in the middle seat of the director/teacher table, with Mr Schue next to her, and Britt on the other side, in case Lexie needs someone.

'Lex, we all decided to sing to you, because you deserve that, and that's what family does for each other.' Puck explained. 'I hope you enjoy it.' He went and sat down with his guitar, letting Quinn and San to take the lead, with the rest of us singing back up.

'_Na na, na na na, na na'_ We all began softly.

'_I miss you, miss you so bad  
>I don't forget you, oh it's so sad<br>I hope you can hear me  
>I remember it clearly;<br>The day you slipped away  
>Was the day I found it won't be the same'<em> Quinn and Santana alternated the lines, both of them singing the last one.

During the song, I couldn't look at Lex, it was just too heartbreaking. Glancing at Sof, I frowned when I noticed tears in her eyes; she's taking this harder than I thought! Once we were in the final parts of the song, I finally looked at Lexie, she was actually smiling. Sad smiling, but she looked like our song really helped her. She was kinda crying as well, but Brittany was there, rubbing her back and comforting her. Running down the steps, I went and wrapped my arms around her.

'What did you think of that, Lex?'

'That was awesome Lauren.' She grinned at me. 'It was the perfect song. Thank you Noah.' She whispered when Puck followed me.

'That's okay Lex.' He winked at her. 'But come on.' Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up the stairs. '_Round and Round. _You're being Selena on lead.' Lexie's eyes widened, and she smiled.

'Awesome, thanks!' She looked at me. 'As long as Laur can sing it with me.'

'Of course I will!' I grabbed a couple of mics, handing her one, and then standing at the front of the stage to face Mr Schue, and Ms P who had since arrived.

'Hey.' I span around as all of us got off stage, smiling as I saw Blaine.

'Blainers! What are you doing here? Wait the parents aren't outside, are they?' My face fell.

'Nope! Actually they did turn up at Dalton… But I have something to show you.'

'Oooooh yay!' I chuckled when Lex pushed past me, smiling up at Blaine.

'Hi Blaine!'

'Hey Lexie!' He hugged her. 'How's your day been?'

'Okaaaaay….' She shrugged.

'Do you want to see the surprise I've got with Lauren?' He asked, making her nod; winking at me, Blaine grabbed both of our hands, dragging us through the school and outside. As soon as we got to the parking lot, I frowned.

'What are we doing here, Blainers?'

'This…' He leant on a random car. 'Is now mine; Mom and Dad showed up at Dalton, Mom drove this there, gave me the keys, and got into Dad's car with him.'

'You have a car? They got you a car?' My mouth dropped open. 'Dad actually agreed to get you a car?'

'A pretty decent one as well! I was so surprised.' He shrugged. 'What do you think, Lex?' He turned to her.

'It's really cool!' She said with wide eyes; rolling my own eyes, I laughed.

'How is it as a ride?'

'It's great, so smooth!' Blaine smirked. 'Both of you want a try? I'm driving to yours, Lex, so you might as well jump in.' He clicked the button to unlock the door.

'Thanks Blaine!' Lexie hugged him, before getting in the back of the car.

'So why did he get this for you?' I frowned when we had some resemblance of privacy.

'I think he realized that Kurt was taking me to school and got suspicious… I'm not sure though.' He shrugged.

'Well whatever it was, you got a car out of it! I just need to convince him to get me one…'

'Well hopefully you'll get one soon! He said that he's going to book you in for your written test this weekend, and then ask Quinn to teach you to drive.'

'Oh my god, are you being serious?' My eyes widened.

'Yup!' He smirked, grinning. 'Come on, get in.' He nodded to the passenger seat.

'Hey guys!' I walked into the house behind Blaine as he called out to everyone, Kurt immediately coming out of the living room.

'Blaine!' He said, kissing him, before looking at Lex behind me. 'How was Glee?' She shrugged, looking at the ground before pushing past all of us, and up the stairs, into her room.

'That was weird…' I frowned. 'She was fine at school.'

'Go and see what's wrong, Laur.' Blaine pointed up the stairs, with a really confused look on his face; he saw how she was before, in the car…

'Okay.' I nodded, following her. 'Hey Lex…' I sat on the bed.

'Are you going to ask me how I feel?' She mumbled, with a scowl on her face.

'No.' I shrugged. 'I just want to hang out in your room, even if it's in silence.' She thought for a moment, before nodding.

'Kay.' She grabbed a random teddy from next to her pillow, lying down with her head in my lap.

'Hey, I like your bear!' I said softly, playing with her hair. 'What's its name?'

'Annie… after my mom.' She shrugged, curling up with it in her arms.

'_Hey L, we're going shopping w/ Lex tomorrow, she wants me to ask if you want to come?' _I raised an eyebrow at Santana's text, glancing down at Lexie, seeing she was messing around on her phone.

'_She's right next to me but didn't say anything, what the heck? Yeah of course I will!'_

'_Ahh bless her! I'll let her know.'_

'_She won't reply, she's just fallen asleep…'_

'_Cute! She wants to buy a dress for Tuesday…'_

'_The funeral? That sucks... She's suddenly become all quiet now that she's home…'_

'_She's probably tired, that's why she's asleep xxx'_

'_True… I'll message you any updates, speak later… xx' _I put my phone down, peacefully watching Lexie sleep.

Lexie's POV

'Alex! Wake up!' I opened my eyes to find Santana in my face, shaking me.

'I'm awake!' I sat up, rubbing my eyes. 'Tana, why are you waking me up?'

'Because you, little lady, were meant to be up an hour ago, ready for me to pick you up. Come on, you need to get ready.'

'I haven't even properly woken up.' I pouted.

'That's your own fault, baby girl. Once you get ready you'll be awake.'

'Okaaaaay….' I whined, stumbling to the bathroom while yawning.

'Britt's gone to pick up Lauren in my car, and I'll wait downstairs for you.'

'Okay Tana!'

A little later, Brittany had just parked at the mall, and we were walking in.

'So where do you guys want to go?' Santana looked at Lauren and me.

'Anywhere, really.' Lauren shrugged.

'Well we need to go to the dress shop, so shall we go straight there?' Britt looked at me, and I looked down before nodding.

'Come on sweet pea, let's go.' Santana wrapped her arm round me, leading me to the nearby shop, followed by Lauren and Britt. 'So, what do you want, babes?'

'Um… a dress.' I looked up and smirked, giggling when she glared and rolled her eyes.

'Very funny. Do you want a black one?'

'Yeah.' I whispered, looking at her with tears in my eyes.

'No need to cry, baby girl, we're just looking for a dress. Let's go look at the black dresses then.' She grabbed my hand, pulling me over there. 'We'll choose one, and then you can try it on and show the others.'

'Okay Tana.' I nodded, looking at the rack with her.

'Oh Alex, you look so cute!' Brittany threw her arms around me when I came out, in a knee length black dress.

'Your daddy would have loved that dress.' Lauren smiled.

'Thanks, Laur.' I turned back to Santana. 'Tana, can we get this?'

'Of course! Go change back into your jeans, and we'll buy it.' She nodded towards the changing rooms; once I came out, I handed the dress to her on the hanger.

'Can you take it to the counter?' I asked, giving her my sweetest face. 'My money's in your purse.'

'Only for you, darling. Come on, sexy.' She grabbed Brittany's hand, pulling her to the pay desk.

'Britt left her purse.' I frowned as I sat next to Lauren, pointing at the bag.

'Oh yeah.' Lauren nodded, glancing over at San and Britt before reaching in there.

'What are you doing, Laur?'

'Just getting Britt's phone.' She shrugged.

'But that's stealing.'

'It's a prank.' She rolled her eyes.

'But…' I whispered, making her pause, with her hand above Britt's purse.

'Come on, it'll be fun. We'll just be messing with her a little bit, we'll give it back. It's funny!' She paused. 'You in?'

'Uh… yep.' I grinned. 'Awesome idea, Laur!'

'Here, put it in your pocket.' She handed it to me, and I slipped it in my pocket as Santana and Brittany came back over.

Santana's POV

I walked back into the mall after hanging up Lex's dress in the car, meeting them at a bench by the entrance.

'Right, is there anything else you want to get for Tuesday?' I looked at Lexie.

'Um, some accessories? Like a bracelet or something.' She shrugged.

'Yeah that'll be nice; come on, let's go look at some.' Lauren grabbed her hand, both of them running over to Topshop, leaving B and I to follow them.

'Where's the jewelry?' Lex looked up at me once we had got into the store.

'Over there, kiddo.' I guided her over to the accessories, pointing out some bracelets.

'I like this one.' She said quietly, picking up a black one that had several strands, each strand looking a little different.

'That's pretty.' Lauren took it, looking at all the different elements. 'Each charm bead thing means something different?'

'Yeah… Like, the eternity symbol means that I'll always remember Daddy; the 'love' is obvious, that I love him, the owls are cute and I think he liked owls. I don't know about the anchor one though…'

'It doesn't have to mean anything, Cariño, because it all looks nice.' I reassured her. 'The simple braided strand in the middle could represent your favorite hairstyle, though.' I winked at her.

'I like wearing headbands with my hair down, _you _like my hair braided.' She glared at me.

'Ahh, you love me doing my hair for you, kiddo.' Lex pondered this for a little bit, before nodding.

'Yeah I do, Tana.' She hugged me. 'I'm getting this. Can you come with me?'

'Of course.' I got her wallet out of my purse, wrapping an arm round her shoulders as we went to the checkout.

'San, can we get some cupcakes?' Lauren asked as we walked out of the store, spotting the stand a few meters away.

'No, it's nearly lunch time. We'll get some after.'

'Aww please?'

'Pleeeeease Tana, just one?' Lexie pleaded, looking up at me with wide eyes.

'Guys, she said no.' Brittany narrowed her eyes at them, much to my amusement. 'Do you want to go to lunch, seeing as you both seem to be hungry?'

'Yeaaaaah…' They both pouted, making me laugh out loud.

'Let's go to the food hall.' I held Britt's hand as we walked along, watching Lauren and Lex as they walked ahead of us, both of them laughing every so often.

'Sanny, why do you think Lex is so happy? Don't you think she should be sad?'

'She is sad, babe… It's probably because she's with us; she can keep her mind off of things. When she's at home, there's nothing to distract her.' I shrugged. 'It's nice to see Lauren so happy though.'

'I know right, do you remember when Sofia and her became friends? She's like a different person.'

'She's grown up so much since we've known her.'

'Grown up? She's acting like a kid right now.' She laughed, nodding over to her and Lexie.

'Bless them!' I grinned, leaning my head on Brittany's shoulder.

Once we had all got some food, we sat down at a table along the edge, Lex and Lauren on the padded bench running along the wall, and Britt and I opposite them.

'So why is Britt driving your car, San?' Lauren asked.

'Hers is in the garage, and she wanted to drive.' I shrugged. 'When's the service done, B?'

'I don't know; I have to ask my mom.'

'Call her now; I think my car needs to go in soon.'

'Oh okay, yeah I'll call.' She picked up her purse from the floor, putting it on the table to look through it. After a couple minutes, she frowned. 'My phone's not in here, San have you seen it?'

'No? God please say you haven't lost it! Check your pockets.' I waited until she had patted down all of them. 'Guys, have you seen B's phone?' I looked at the girls.

'No!' Lauren said a bit too quickly for my liking. Narrowing my eyes slightly, I stared at her, looking at Lex too when Lauren glanced at her.

'Girls… have you seen Brittany's phone?' I said slowly, raising my eyebrow when they both squirmed slightly. 'Give it over.' I held my hand out to them.

'W-we don't h-have it.' Lexie stammered.

'Yeah, we don't.' Lauren said, looking away.

'I swear to God girls, I will… ground you from Glee if you don't give it to me.' Lexie looked at Lauren, who shrugged, nodding slightly.

'Here.' Lex pulled the phone out of her pocket, putting it in my hand.

'Thank you, Alexandra.' I smirked when she scowled.

'Wait… you got a happy meal?' Lauren frowned when she saw what Lexie bought for herself.

'Yeah…' Lex shrugged.

'Why?'

'I wanted to. The toy's cool.' She smirked.

'Awesome. Can I see it?' Lauren went to take it.

'No!' Lexie quickly grabbed it. 'You'd steal it.'

'No I wouldn't! Come on, I just want to play with it for a minute, you can have it back after.'

'Well it's mine, you're not allowed.'

'You guys are so weird… stop arguing.' I shook my head at them.

'Fiiiine.' They both sighed, subtly side-eyeing each other…. I am 90% sure right now that I'm out with kindergarteners, rather than a 14 and 15 year old… they are very entertaining though…

Kurt's POV

I walked into Lexie's room, holding a pile of clothes.

'Hey Lex, I've got your laundry.' I said as I put them on top of the dresser, opening the draw to start putting things away.

'Kurt?' Lexie whispered from her bed.

'Yes sweetie?' I asked, frowning when she didn't reply. I turned around, seeing her stare at me with wide, watery eyes. 'Oh, Lex!' I went to sit next to her, pulling her into my side, with my arm wrapped around her. 'What did you want to say?'

'I'm scared.' She whimpered, sniffling slightly. 'About tomorrow…'

'The funeral? Yeah, I would be scared too.'

'You would?'

'Yep.' I paused, running my fingers through her hair. 'How do you feel?'

'I really really miss him, Kurt!' Tears started to roll down her face.

'I know, sweetie. But you will always remember him, right? And he'll always be watching you, from wherever he now is.'

'Really?' She looked up at me.

'Really.' I squeezed her tightly. 'Anyway, tomorrow's the big day, so you better be going to bed.'

'Kay, night Kurt.'

'Goodnight, Lexie.' I helped her into bed, kissing her forehead before leaving her room.

Santana's POV

I drove to the crematorium with Britt and Sofia, parking just outside the chapel that the funeral was taking place in. As I cut the engine, I noticed Quinn, Lauren and Blaine close by, so we went to walk inside with them. We got inside, and looking round for Lexie, I saw her sitting at the front in between her granddad and Kurt. We sat down behind her, and I gently put my hand on her shoulder.

'Hey Lex.' I said softly as she turned around to face me.

'Tana…' She whimpered her face slightly puffy from crying.

'Don't say anything if you don't want to, sweetie, I understand.' I leant forward and kissed her forehead.

'I'm really glad you're here Tana…' She whispered, glancing at Britt, Q, and Lauren.

'We're here to support you Lexie, so I'm here if you need me.'

'Kay.' Her eyes widened when the main door at the back opened, and the others and me looked back to see Mr Goodson's coffin being carried in.

'At this point during the service, I would usually talk to you about Tom's life.' The officiating person said about halfway through. 'When I was lucky enough to meet him before he passed away, he instead gave me a disc that contained a pre-filmed message from the man himself.' He gestured to the large television that was close by, Artie just turning it on before rolling away. I heard a gasp come from Lex as Mr Goodson's face popped up on the screen.

'_Hi everybody! I decided that this part should be more personal, so I got one of Lexie's friends to film this for me. Lexie, baby, I can't believe I won't be able to see you grow up… Keep this disc, think about me often, but also live your life; don't let this define you. Everyone, this is a slideshow of pictures and videos of my family, especially Lexie and Annie, her mom.' _He paused as a picture of a young Lex, probably about 4, flashed up, with Mrs Goodson holding her, Mr G next to them. Lexie let out a strangled sob, suddenly standing up and sending her chair going flying as she threw herself towards me; surprised, I just arranged her to properly sit on my lap, her face in my neck as she sobbed. Her granddad turned in concern, but I gave him a reassuring look as Kurt nodded at me.

'That's it babe, let it all out.' I murmured as I began to rub her back, hopefully comfortingly. After a while, she changed her position so that she could silently watch the photos and videos, her eyes red.

'Hey.' I looked to my right to see Puck, and he gently put his hand on Lexie's back. She grabbed his hand, holding it tightly while sniffling.

Lauren's POV

I hate funerals. They're hard to get through, especially as its Tom, he was really nice.

'Everybody is welcome to come to our house for some food and drinks; thank you for coming.' Carole stood up at the end. Seeing as it was all over, I finally let go of Blaine's hand.

'You okay, Laur?'

'Yeah…' I nodded, shrugging. 'What about you?'

'I don't know, really.' He looked at Quinn. 'Ready to go?'

'Yeah, come on.' She stood up, leading us back outside, going to talk to the Hudmel's, especially Lexie.

'Hi Lauren, Blaine.' Burt smiled at us. 'Thank you both for coming, it really means a lot; I know Tom liked the both of you.' I smiled softly at Lex when she hugged me.

'Hey Lex! You were really brave back in there.' I said quietly.

'I was?' She looked up at me, with tears in her eyes.

'Yeah, you were. Your daddy would have been very proud of you.'

'Thank you.' She smiled slightly, keeping her arms around my waist.

'Come on, Alex, we better get home.' Kurt held out his hand, smiling when Lexie happily took it.

We got to the Hudmel's about an hour later, after hanging round at Q's for a little bit. As we got there, we saw a few of the other gleek's cars.

'Hi guys!' Carole hugged us when we went inside. 'All of the glee people are down in the basement; I think they may be watching a movie, so head on down there.'

'Thanks, Carole.' I smiled, hugging her again when I noticed Lex sitting at the kitchen table, looking just depressed, and ignoring everyone around her. I walked over to her, sitting next to her. 'Alright, Alex?'

'Hi Lauren.'

'What are you doing up here by yourself?'

'I don't… I'm scared… what if people…' She trailed off, and I almost rolled my eyes.

'Nothing's gonna happen, Lex. Everyone's here for you, so let's go hang out with them! They're watching a movie.'

'Are… are you sure?'

'Yeah, come on.' I grabbed her hand, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as we walked down the stairs.

'Hey Lex!' Everyone grinned when they saw her, and I felt her relax before she pulled away, settling in a spot next to Santana.

'We were waiting for you, kiddo.' She winked. 'Choose one.' She held up a few films.

'Um… Hairspray.'

'Okay then! Rach, put it in!' Santana slid the DVD case over to her. 'How do you feel?'

'I guess I'm kinda glad it's over and done with.' She shrugged, snuggling into Santana's side.

'I miss all you guys!' Lexie said a little bit after the movie ended, and we were just all talking before the second one was about to start.

'We all miss you too.' Tina smiled. 'It's really quiet without you in glee.'

'When are you coming back to school, Lex?' Britt asked from the other side of Santana.

'I don't know… I need to ask. I wanna go back tomorrow.' She pouted.

'Go ask now.'

'Uh, no… I will later.'

'Come on kiddo, I'll go with you…' Santana smirked.

'Nah, its okay… Let's just watch the second movie.' She shrugged, lying on the floor with her head in Santana's lap as Rachel put another movie into the machine.

'High School Musical?' Mike looked at Rachel once the titles had come up on the screen.

'I feel like I should complain but everyone loves this movie.' Mercedes laughed as everyone silenced to watch it.

I watched Burt carry the sleeping Lexie up to her room, before turning back to Carole.

'Thanks for having us, Carole.'

'That's okay, Lauren, thank you for being here!' She hugged me, Blaine, and then Quinn.

'We better be going, see you tomorrow Carole.' Blaine smiled.

'Will do!' She looked at me and Quinn. 'Keep an eye on Alex tomorrow, girls. If you think she can't cope, call me, and I'll come pick her up.'

'Of course!' I waved as we walked out, getting into Blaine's car.

'Thanks for driving me around today, Blaine.' Quinn grinned.

'It's alright, Quinn, we're practically family. Do you need a lift to school tomorrow?'

'Um, yeah that'll be nice, thanks! I'm still surprised your dad got you this car.'

'Me too!' He laughed. 'Anyway, I'll see you in the morning.'

'Okay, thanks again!' Quinn quickly hugged me as we pulled up outside the Fabray house, before getting out.

'I'm tired.' I leant my head on Blaine's shoulder as we got outside my room.

'Me too, it's been a long day.'

'Yeah, it has. Emotionally draining.' I nodded, heading inside my bedroom to get changed.

'Make sure you hurry up, Laur, Dad's waiting for you.'

'I will, thanks bro. Now if you don't mind…' I waved him away as I grabbed my pjs. After I had changed, I went straight back down, and into the living room. 'Hi, Dad… Um, what's up?'

'I was wondering about this letter.' He held up the permission slip for Six Flags. 'What has this got to do with school?'

'Oh… uh, it's a Glee trip, it's to do with… teambuilding, I think Mr Schuester said.'

'Teambuilding?' He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

'Yeah! Understanding our teammates' fears, as well as bonding with them…' I lied, praying that he couldn't tell.

'That makes sense, I guess. Why couldn't it have been at the weekend, though?'

'Uh… Mr Schuester has family issues this weekend, and the principal told him that the trip had to be this week at the latest…' My dad narrowed his eyes again, staring at me for a minute, before nodding.

'Okay. I'll sign it, and leave it on the table by the door in the morning.'

'Ah that's great, thank you Dad!' I diligently went and kissed his cheek, being the good daughter that I am… 'I better be going to bed, see you in the morning!'

'Goodnight, Lauren.' He nodded at me, and I quickly walked away without running, silently cheering.

Lexie's POV

It's only the end of second period, and I'm already sick of school. I'm looking forward to Spanish last lesson, and then we have glee, which is gonna be so much fun! I walked round the corner, on my way to History, when I suddenly saw Kitty hanging out with some of her minions. Oh god oh god oh god… I span around, quickly going back in the other direction, I can go the long way round.

'Hey, look whose back! It's Dora the Explorer.' Too late. Damn it. I froze, hoping that she would drop it at that. No such luck. 'Hello Lexie Wexie!' She stood in front of me.

'Kitty…' I looked down.

'You're looking exceptionally… puffy, today.' She paused, looking me up and down. 'Anyway, I'm glad you're back: it means that the gleek's will stop being horrible about you and it can go back to being just me that does that.'

'What?'

'Yeah, they don't actually like you.' I felt tears in my eyes. 'Aww, are you crying? Poor baby!' She smirked. My face fell when the bell rung, meaning I was late to lesson. Damn. 'Is Lexie gonna be in twouble for being late?' Kitty laughed, before waving over to the other Cheerios. 'Come on guys, we better be going.' She pushed me against the lockers, before walking towards the gym.

Santana's POV

I walked into the quiet bathroom by my Geography class, putting my pass on the counter by the sinks. As soon as the main door closed, I halted, spinning round to see Lexie on the floor, against the wall behind me.

'Lexie… what are you doing here?' I helped her stand up.

'I was gonna be late to History.' She pouted.

'That doesn't mean you should miss it! By how long?'

'Like, five minutes.' She said quietly, staring at the floor.

'Jesus Lex, is that it? You've now missed half of the class!'

'What do you care?' Her head snapped up, and she narrowed her eyes defiantly. 'It's not like you like me or anything!' Lexie's bottom lip began to quiver.

'What are you talking about?' I frowned, totally confused. 'I love you, Lexie; you're like my little sister!' Realization hit me. 'Who told you otherwise, sweet pea?'

'Just someone… I don't wanna talk about it.' She resumed her pouting.

'Okay then, darling. Wait here while I use the bathroom.'

'Okay…'

'Come on.' I took Lexie's hand, walking with her down the corridor.

'Where are we going, Tana?'

'History.' I said nonchalantly, rolling my eyes when she stopped dead.

'Nooooo!' She whined. 'I don't wanna.'

'You have to go, Lex, it's important.'

'But… You said I missed half the lesson, there's no point me going in now…'

'I don't know... How about getting the work you missed? Giving in all the work from last week that Lauren gave you from your teachers?' Her eyes widened slightly, before she nodded.

'I guess…'

'Okaaaaay.' I said suspiciously; Lex wouldn't usually give up that easily. 'Anyway, let's go.'

Lexie's POV

'Okay, guys, I'll see you on Friday.' Mr Schue said at the end of lesson. 'Lexie, can I talk to you, please?'

'Yep.' I nodded, shrugging at Santana when she frowned at me.

'Here you go, Lexie.' He slid a couple worksheets across my desk. 'It's the work you'll miss on Friday.'

'Oh okay, thanks!'

'Make sure you do it, though.' He looked at me pointedly, and I felt myself go red as San turned and stared at me.

'What does that mean, Mr S?' She asked, as I sunk further into my seat.

'Oh… Lex missed some of her assignments sent home for her last week.'

'Hmm… Do it tonight. I'll take you straight home after Glee, and you do it then.'

'But I thought we were going to the Bean?' I whined.

'Yes, we were. But your schoolwork comes first.'

'Fine.' I pouted, letting Santana take my hand and pull me up.

'See you in Glee, Mr Schue.'

'Yup, bye girls.'

I walked into the choir room behind Santana, practically skipping. Ahh I am so excited to be back.

'Lexie!' Everyone called as they saw me, most of them coming over and hugging me.

'I am _very _glad you're back, babe.' Quinn winked at me, laughing when I rolled my eyes at her.

'Me too.' I grinned.

'Come on, let's go sit down.' I turned to the chairs, my heart dropping when I realized the only free chair was next to Kitty, in the back row. I went up there, subtly scooting my chair closer to Quinn.

'Hi everybody!' Mr Schuester walked in the room. 'And welcome back to Lexie Goodson! Now that you're back, we can start thinking about songs for NATIONALS!'

'I have lots of ideas, Mr Schue.' Rachel began to stand up, before he guided her back down.

'Firstly, Rach, it's a group decision. Secondly, you haven't even heard the theme of the competition.'

'Theme?' Santana asked.

'One third of the performance has to be vintage!'

'What about the Troubletones' song, Mr S?' Mercedes said with a smile.

'Ahh, for that part of the set, I have bought in a special guest to help us…' He paused. 'Ms Corcoran!'

'Mom!' Rachel stood up, going to hug her. I looked at Quinn when she squeezed my hand, giving me a small smile.

'You okay?' She whispered.

'Hmm.' I shrugged, sliding to sit on her lap. 'I don't know.'

'Do you want to go home?'

'No… I have to get through it, I guess.'

She nodded, smiling reassuringly at Santana when she turned back to look at us.

Lauren's POV

'Hey, we're outside.' Blaine said into his cell phone as the car was stopped by the sidewalk. 'Okay, see you in a minute.'

'I'm waiting outside.' I stated, smirking at Quinn's laugh.

'Lauren…' Blaine trailed off, shaking his head as I closed the door, choosing to lean against it, waiting for my boyfriend to come out the house.

'Hey Beautiful.' He walked up to me, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss.

'Hi.' I smiled, responding in the same way. A few seconds into the kiss, we heard a knock on the window behind us; I span round to glare at Blaine, but he just raised an eyebrow at me, pointing into the back of the car. 'Ugh brothers…'

'He's just looking out for you…' He smirked. 'Are you excited for today?'

'Yeah, I haven't been to Six Flags since… well, when Cooper moved away. It's gonna be awesome!'

'Hell yeah it is!' He said opening the car door for me.

As we pulled up to the bus terminal everyone else was already there waiting and ready to go. Rachel stormed up to us with her arms crossed.

'Where have you been? Everyone has been waiting for you!' She stropped. Finn walked up behind her putting his hand on her back. 'Chill Rach, their like 5 minutes late... We'll still get there in time.' Rachel opened her mouth to speak but just flicked her hair and walked off.

'Well it's good to know Rachel is on top form today...' Blaine said under his breath, making us laugh.

'Yeah sorry about the slight lateness, we had to wait for this one...' I said elbowing Riker in the ribs. 'HEEEYYYY! That hurt...' He whined, rubbing his rib.

'Okay Everyone! The bus is here, so let's get going!' Rachel shouted.

Lexie's POV

Once we got into the park, everyone ran straight to a big rollercoaster, only Lauren noticing when I hung back from the group.

'Guys, wait up.' She stopped everyone from joining the queue. 'What's wrong, Lex?'

'I, uh, I've never been on a rollercoaster, they're really scary!'

'You'll be fine with me, come on. I'll hold your hand.' She held her hand out.

'Uh, no, I don't want to.' I stepped back again.

'Oh… okay.' She turned to everyone. 'Go on guys, I'll wait here with Lex, I can go on later.'

'No, Lauren.' Kitty walked up to us. 'I don't particularly want to go on this; it's a bit, high. I'll stay with Lexie, you go on.' She said with a smirk.

'Is that okay, Lex?'

'Uhh... Yeah, sure, go with the others Lauren...I'll be ok...' I said as confidently as I could.

'Ok then Lex, call me if you need me, I'll be right here' She said glaring at Kitty slightly then running off to join the others. As soon as she was out of sight Kitty started on me.

'Just as I suspected, Little Lexie finds the big rides too scawy... Why don't you go over to the little kid rides since you wanna be treated like a baby so much huh?' She said leaning in close to my face.

'Please leave me alone.'

She leant right up to my ear and whispered 'Little. Baby. Lexie.'

'I'M NOT A BABY!' I yelled pushing her away. 'I'M GONNA GO ON THAT RIDE AND...AND PROVE YOU WRONG...YOU'LL SEE...I'M NOT A BABY!'

Kitty looked shocked, but then a smile crept across her face. I realised I'd given her what she wanted.

'Oh, I have got to see this. Maybe little baby Lexie will finally prove herself. I give you till just before we get on before you freak out and you become a baby again, just like you have you have always been.'

I felt like crying. Why was she so mean? I ran into the queue catching up with the others, Kitty following behind laughing to herself.

Laurens POV

We all standing in the queue when I saw Lexie running up to us, she looked angry. Then I saw Kitty behind her with a smirk and I could guess what happened,

'Oh, hey Lex! Did you change your mind about the ride then?' Kurt asked.

'Uh...Yeah. I thought I should try it...' Lexie replied looking down to avoid eye contact.

'Well good for you Lex!' Blaine replied.

'Uh...Thanks...' she said moving to stand with Quinn and San. Once she was gone I walked up to Kitty.

'Kitty, what did you do?' I said trying to sound forceful.

'Why do you always assume I did something?' She said innocently.

'She was terrified about coming on this ride just now and all of a sudden she's ok. Why would she change her mind like that unless someone changed it for her?'

'I just gave her a little...persuasion. It was her decision to come on the ride.' Kitty smirked.

'Persuasion! Is that what you call it? Because I'd call it straight up bullying!' I started to raise my voice.

'Is everything ok guys?' Riker said walking over to us, putting his arm round me.

'Everything is fine, just talking.' Kitty replied with a big smile on her face. I glared at her before smiling at him.

'Yup! Just um... Clearing a few things up. No problem.'

'Oh good because I'd hate for you to be fighting when we're meant to be having fun.' He said, not quite buying it.

'Yo! Guys! Hurry up! We're nearly at the front of the line!' Puck called.

Santana's POV

I looked down at Lex. She looked as pale as a ghost.

'You know, you really don't have to go on this if you don't want to.' I said crouching down to her level.

'No. I have to... I'm fine, I promise...' She whispered, trailing off at the end.

'Well if you're sure. I'll be next to you the whole time ok?'

'Uh...Lauren will you sit next to me too?' I looked up at Lauren who was being all cutesy with that blond and lanky Justin Bieber. Ugh. Gross.

'Sorry, were you talking to me?' She said managing to pull her gaze away to look at us.

'Yeah, Lex wants you to sit with us on the ride.'

'Oh, I, um... was hoping to sit next to Ri...'

Lexie looked like a hurt puppy. 'Oh...' I glared at Lauren.

'But...I really wanna sit with Rikeyyy...' She whined. I raised my eyebrow and she made an 'ugh fine...' motion.

'Okay Lex, I'll sit next to you...' Lauren pouted at me. Lexie looked up at her happily and ran over to hug her.

'Really? Thanks Lauren!'

'Sure thing Lex.' With that we were at the front of the line.

We walked to our seats, Lauren still looking a bit annoyed, but she'll get over it...

Lexie's POV

As I sat down in my seat I was trying so hard to freak out. I grabbed San and Lauren's hands as the ride started to move. Kitty was seated behind me and I could hear her laughing. We slowly climbed up the track.

'You ok Lex? You're kinda crushing my hand...' Lauren said. I nodded, loosening my grip a little.

We reached the top of the track and tipped over the edge. I screamed and shut my eyes tight as the ride rushed along the track.

Lauren's POV

I felt the adrenaline rushing through me as the ride came to a stop. That was totally awesome! I looked over at Lex who looked as pale as a ghost.

'So what did you think Lex?' Santana said helping her to undo her belt and get out of the seat.

'It was uh...really scary...I don't wanna go on any more...' She said wrapping her arms around San.

'Ok, you don't have to go on anything else. We can go and play in the arcades for the rest of the day' San comforted her, rubbing her back as we walked out the ride.

'So... just as I thought. Little baby Lexie lives on.' Kitty said walking up to us.

'Back off Kitty!' I yelled at her, pushing her back without thinking. Man that felt good. 'She's just a kid! What is your problem with that!

'Guys! Guys calm down!' Finn said running between us.

'You know what? I'm so done with you losers. I'm gonna go have some real fun.' Kitty stormed off clearly not knowing how to respond to my outburst, but I was still fuming.

'Oh so you can give but not take it huh?! That's right you walk off, we didn't want you here anyway!' I yelled after her. I felt myself relax a little, it feels good to vent! Especially on Kitty.

'Whoa... Where did that come from?' Blaine said shocked at the outburst.

'Yeah man, that was CRAZY!' Riker spoke up from behind him walking over to me.

'Uh, yeah, sorry about that... She just makes me so angry! Especially when she being mean to Lex. I mean you don't deserve any of that...' I said looking over at Lex '...She's just so annoying and stuck up!'

'Well, she's gone now so shall we go back to having fun? Like we are supposed to be?' Riker said pulling me close.

'Yeah we really should' I said looking up at him, tip toeing to kiss him gently on the lips.

'Ewwwwwww...' Lexie grimaced behind us, making me laugh.

'Ok then let's go!' Puck called, leading the group to the next ride, Lex and San going off to the arcades.


	16. Chapter 16

Lauren's POV

I walked into the house with Quinn, my eyes widening when I looked around the place.

'Whoa guys… the place looks amazing!' I said as I went into the living room to find Blaine and Kurt hanging a banner up. 'I didn't realize you were gonna go this far with the decorations!'

'Well your only sixteen once, I thought you could do with a couple surprises.' Blaine walked over.

'We've pushed the couches out the way, to make a dance floor area .' Kurt nodded over at them.

'Oooohhhhhhh that's a good idea, we can all get our groove on! You've put a table in here for food as well!'

'We should go get all that…' Quinn said, already heading back outside, followed by the rest of us. Tonight's gonna be epic!

'So how was Lauren's first driving lesson, Q?' Blaine asked as we sat down after all the decorations were up.

'She was great! She drove from my house to the first store, and I drove anywhere else after that.' Quinn smiled at me.

'I was great, Blainers. I didn't crash or anything!' I smirked.

'I knew you could do it, Laur.' He laughed, pausing when the doorbell ring. 'Who's that? If they're here for the party, they are super early.'

'Go answer it.' I rolled my eyes.

'On my way.' He shrugged, standing up and going to the front door. 'Oh hey Puck, what are you doing here so early?'

'Just dropping off the booze for tonight.' He walked in. 'Where do ya want me to dump it?'

'Uh, in the kitchen please.'

'Thanks for this Puck!' I stood up. 'Do you want anything for it?'

'Nah, think of it as your birthday present.' He winked. 'Anyway, I'll let you get on. Looks great in here, see ya!'

'Bye, see you tonight!' I called behind him as he jogged out of the house. Now the party is defiantly gonna rock!

Santana's POV

I smiled at Brittany as she came in the front door, looking absolutely amazing.

'Woooow!'

'Thanks Sanny!' She came and kissed my cheek, smiling at Lexie as I curled her hair.

'There you go sweetie-pie, all done!'

'Thanks Tana.' She turned around and hugged me.

'Be careful of the curler, it's still hot, I don't want you to burn yourself.'

'I won't Tana, I promise.' She giggled. 'I'm gonna go look at my hair.' She stood up, and ran into the bathroom.

'How's she been babe?'

'Better than yesterday, still quiet though, I think it's doing her good to be away from the family.'

'Yeah, probably. I'm so proud of you for looking after her.' She kissed me.

'It's instinctive, she's like a baby sister to me.' I grinned, and the grin widened when Lexie appeared in the doorway.

'Aww Lexie, you look so lovely! Santana's done your hair and makeup well, you look great!'

'Thank you Britty, you do too!' She smiled, slipping her flats on as I strapped up my heels.

Lauren's POV

'Lauren, you look amazing!' I turned to Blaine as he came down the stairs. 'I love that musky pink on you! And you hair and makeup is just whoa!'

'Well, you know, Kurt helped me with it.' I giggled, blushing slightly. 'Thanks, though. You look good too, I see you've brought out your special blue bow tie!'

'My baby sister's only turning 16 once!'

'You look super snazzy , anyway. When's Kurt heading over?'

'Later, he's coming with Rachel and Finn. What about Quinn?'

'She's being picked up by someone, I think.'

'Oh okay! The Warblers guys are coming over at about 7.30, I think. Riker's coming with Nick and Trent.' I looked at the clock, 7pm. Time to get this party started! My thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. I walked over, opening the door to Sofia and Rory, with Rachel, Finn, and Kurt walking up the path behind them, followed by a load of random Cheerios and football players. Once everyone was inside, I stood on a chair to call everyone's attention.

'Hey everyone! So the rule for tonight is no throwing up! If you need to, do it in the toilet, or run down the road!' I called. 'The drinks are in the kitchen, and there's food in the living room! Have fun!' Jumping off the chair, I walked into the kitchen, followed by Sofia and Rory.

'Happy Birthday Laurie!' Sofia hugged me, giving me a gift bag. 'This is from both of us.'

'Yeah, happy birthday.' Rory nodded. I opened the bag, and there was some perfume and a jewelry box… I opened it, and there was a shiny silver charm bracelet in there. I gasped.

'Wow guys, this is awesome! Thanks! Help me put it on?' Sofia chuckled, and grabbed it, putting it round my wrist.

'There you go darl…'

'Thanks Sof, I would put the perfume on too, but I've already got some on.' I smirked.

I grinned at Quinn when she came into the kitchen, followed by Mike, Tina, Sam, and Mercedes.

'Hey guys!'

'Hi hon, having a nice time?' I rolled my eyes at Quinn, nodding happily.

'It's been great so far, I'm glad you're here though. Do you know when Santana and Britt are coming? Lex is with them..'

'No, I don't, they should be here soon though.'

'Here, Lauren, have your first birthday drink!' Sam shoved a solo cup in my hand.

'Uhhh, thanks Sam!' I smiled, immediately taking a gulp, grimacing slightly.

'I'm gonna get a top up, want one?' Quinn leaned over and asked while we were on the dance floor.

'Um, yes please Q!' I grinned… I gasped suddenly when I felt arms wrap around my waist, picking me up and spinning me round. When I was back on the ground I turned around to find my boyfriend. 'Riker! You made me jump!'

'Hey Beautiful.' He bent down a little, kissing me deeply. 'How's your birthday been?'

'It's been great thanks Ri, but I'm glad you're here now. Hey guys!' I waved at my brother's friends.

'So, I have a present for you but, I'm not gonna give you it yet, but you'll get it later, okay?'

'Okaaaaay, I can't wait!' I went on my tiptoes, giving him a light kiss.

Santana's POV

We parked up down the road, and as we walked up, we could hear the music pumping, and we could tell it was busy, but not too bad, the house wasn't overflowing. Suddenly I heard a whimper from Lexie. 'Alex, are you okay darling?'

'I… I'm scared, there's gonna be loads of people…'

'It'll be okay darling, I'll look out for you.' I took her hand, and she was trembling. Her breath was getting quicker… 'Lex, you need to calm down, deep breaths.' We stopped walking, and I got her to copy my breathing pattern. 'That's it sweetie, well done.' We started walking again when her breath got back to normal, and she smiled shyly up at me. 'Let's get you a drink.'

'Thanks Tana.'

'Come on Britt, let's get through the crowds.' Brittany took Lexie's other hand, and we managed to get through to the kitchen, where I poured us out some cokes.

'Heeeeeey guys!' Lauren came in, hugging Lexie tightly.

'Are you tipsy Lauren?' I asked, amused. It was hilarious!

'Maaaybe a little, probably, yes... Yes I am' She grinned stupidly. 'You look _adorable_ Babybel! Do you like that nickname? I thought of it earlier and I think it's perfect for you so that's your name for now one okay Babybel? Anyway I LOVE your dress, I'm so glad you're here.' She hasn't had too much alcohol yet, luckily… I'm pretty sure she'll be going all night…

Lauren's POV

Half an hour later, I was enjoying the party, when I saw Lexie sitting on her own. I wonder where Santana and Brittany are? Whatever, I should go talk to her.

'Hey Babybel!'

'Hey.' She said quietly, sounding kinda sad.

'What's wrong?' I asked, sitting next to her.

'I… I guess I'm still sad about my dad.'

'Understandable…'

'I just miss him so bad, I can't believe he's gone!' Tears began pooling in her eyes, threatening to fall.

'Hey hey now, don't cry!' I looked at my cup. Might as well… 'Here, have some of my drink, that'll make you feel better.' I gave her my half full cup.

'Uuuum… thanks… is this alcohol?' She gave me a funny look.

'There may be a little in there…'

'I'm not supposed to drink, I'm underage…'

'So is everyone in this house Lex, don't worry about it.' I smirked.

'I don't know Laur, I… I shouldn't…'

'Go on, live a little!'

'Fine…' She took a sip, and her face scrunched up a little, it was adorable, I couldn't help but laugh.

'So?'

'It… it tastes warm… like… drinking summer…' Her eyes lit up as she spoke.

'Yeah, I guess it does! Here, you keep that, and I'll go get myself another.' She grinned at me excitedly.

I made my way into the kitchen to get myself another drink, seeing as I so kindly gave Lexie my one.

'Hey, there's the birthday girl! I wondered where you got to!' Riker walked in behind me, giving me a quick hug from behind, and then jumping up to sit on the island.

'Ohhh hey! Yeah, I was just talking to Lexie, she was sad about her dad. I thought she could do with some cheering up.'

'Ahh, that sucks…' Suddenly, Santana burst into the room, looking totally mad… this can't be good.

'Lauren… did you give Lexie ALCOHOL?!' Definitely not good.

'I maaaay have given her a little…' I said, dragging out the words slowly.

'SHE IS FOURTEEN LAUREN!' She shouted. Loudly. 'HOW COULD YOU?'

'She was really down; I thought she could use some cheering up. I just wanted her to enjoy the party… Anyway, you can't tell me you didn't drink at that age…'

'What if I did? Lex is different from everyone else, you know that. She's really still a kid!' She wasn't shouting, but she was still real angry.

'Well, maybe if you didn't treat her like one and let her live a little, SHE WOULDN'T ACT LIKE ONE! Come on San, look how happy she is…' I pointed through the doorway at Lexie, who was dancing about and singing along with the music. It was so cute.

'Look, Anderson, I'll let you off this time. But if something like this, anything, happens again, you will NOT make it too 17, do you hear me?'

'Yep Santana.' I gave her a thumbs up. 'I got it.' She turned around, and stalked out of the kitchen.

'Wow… okay… what's her problem?' I jumped up next to Riker.

'Ohh.. she's just very… protective of Lexie. I don't really blame her really, the kid's had a hard life.'

'Ahh…' We sat there in silence for a while, when 'Bad Enough For You' started to play. 'Oh my god, I love All Time Low!' Riker jumped down.

'Really? Me too! Wanna dance?'

'Hell yeah!' He took my hand as I jumped down, both of us excitedly running into the living room.

'Ready for your birthday present, Beautiful?' Riker suddenly said after we had danced for a little while.

'Uh, yes please Rikey!' I nodded kinda shyly, raising my eyebrow as he called over some of the Warblers, Kurt and Blaine included.

'HEY EVERYBODY!' He called above everyone, making them be quiet. 'So some of you might not know this, but I'm Lauren's boyfriend, Riker. I've decided that my main present to the birthday girl would be a song… Hit it Quinn!' He called over to the stereo, where she was standing, for her to hit play the music, as the boys got in their usual formation, Riker in front. I softly laughed as he began to sing, not knowing what to do. This is gonna be so corny...

_Uh, girl, you're shining__  
><em>_Like a 5th Avenue diamond__  
><em>_And they don't make you like they used to__  
><em>_You're never going out of style__  
><em>

They all started dancing around boy band style, all in sync of one another.

___Uh, pretty baby__  
><em>_This world might have gone crazy__  
><em>_The way you saved me, who could blame me__  
><em>_When I just wanna make you smile__  
><em>

Riker made eye contact with me, sticking with it as he sang to me.

___I wanna thrill you like Michael__  
><em>_I wanna kiss you like Prince__  
><em>_Let's get it on like Marvin Gaye, like Hathaway__  
><em>_Write a song for you like this___

_You're over my head, I'm out of my mind__  
><em>_Thinking I was born in the wrong time__  
><em>_One of a kind, living in a world gone plastic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic__  
><em>_Baby you__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic___

_Four thousand roses__  
><em>_Anything for you to notice__  
><em>_All the way to serenade you__  
><em>_Doing it's not your style___

_I'mma pick you up in a Cadillac__  
><em>_Like a gentleman, bring the glamour back__  
><em>_Keep it real to real in the way I feel__  
><em>_I could walk you down the aisle___

_I wanna thrill you like Michael__  
><em>_I wanna kiss you like Prince__  
><em>_Let's get it on like Marvin Gaye, like Hathaway__  
><em>_Write a song for you like this___

_You're over my head, I'm out of my mind__  
><em>_Thinking I was born in the wrong time__  
><em>_It's not a rewind, everything is so throwback__  
><em>_I kinda like it, like it___

_Out of my league, old school chic__  
><em>_Like a movie star from a silver screen__  
><em>_You're one of a kind, living in a world gone plastic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic_

__Nick came to the front and started rapping, badly, making me laugh even more

___Baby, you're class, and baby, you're sick__  
><em>_I never met a girl like you ever till we met__  
><em>_A star in the 40__′__s, centerfold in the 50__′__s__  
><em>_You got met trippin' out like the 60__′__s, hippies__  
><em>_Queen of the discotheque__  
><em>_A 70__′__s gleam in an 80__′__s vest__  
><em>_Hepburn, Beyoncé, Marilyn Manson__  
><em>_Girl, you're timeless__  
><em>_Just so classic__  
><em>_You're over my head, I'm out of my mind__  
><em>_Thinking I was born in the wrong time__  
><em>_It's not a rewind, everything is so throwback__  
><em>_I kinda like it, like it__  
><em>

Suddenly Riker pulled me closer to him as the rest of the Warblers danced and sang, spinning me round and singing the last bit right to me.

___Out of my league, old school chic__  
><em>_Like a movie star from a silver screen__  
><em>_You're one of a kind, living in a world gone plastic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic__  
><em>_Baby, you're so classic_

Everyone started clapping and cheering around us.

'Oh… wow… Riker…' I stammered, still mesmerized . 'That was so… amazing.'

'So you liked it?' He smiled softly.

'It was perfect, Riker. It's the best birthday I've ever had, by far.'

'I'm glad you enjoyed it.' He turned to everyone else again, before they started to get loud again. 'Guys! and so with that it is time for cake!' My eyes widened as Blaine walked in with a large cake with several candles on top, everyone starting to sing happy birthday to me.

'Guys…' I whispered, trying not to cry. I love my birthday, it's way better than it would have been if my parents were here.

'See if you can blow them out all at once, Beautiful.' Riker smirked, challenging me. I mirrored his expression, quickly extinguishing the tiny little flames. As soon as I done that, Riker pulled me into a deep kiss. 'I love you, Lauren.'

'I… I love you too, Riker.' I leant up to kiss him back, the tears finally falling. No one's ever told me they've loved me before… at least other than Blaine and Coop.

After the song and cake, I carried on dancing, this time with Quinn and Sofia, letting Blaine and Ri have some guy time.

'Hey Lauren!' Lexie suddenly appeared at my side.

'Hi Babybel!' I winked at her when she smiled at the nickname; I'm keeping that for her. 'Have you had a good time so far?'

'Yes it's been awesome thanks!' She threw her arms around me. 'Are you having a good birthday?'

'It's been great thanks, Lex!'

'Riker's song was awesome, he really likes you!' I grinned at her excitement. 'Did you make a wish when you blew your candles out?'

'Yup!'

'What was it?' She looked at me with wide eyes.

'Don't be nosey, Alex!' Quinn shook her head. 'If Lauren tells you what she wished for, it won't come true.'

'Ohhhhhh.' She whined. 'You're right. Anyway, I'm gonna go find Tana and Britt. Bye!' She leant up and kissed my cheek. 'Enjoy the rest of your party, Laur!' Awww….

'I will, thanks Lexie!' I laughed as she ran off.

I was slow dancing with Riker, resting my head on his chest, when I was suddenly pulled away.

'What?!' I snapped at Santana, frowning at her and Britt's worried faces.

'Have you seen Alex?'

'What? No! Have you lost her?' My eyes widened.

'We lost track of her, and now we can't find her!'

'God… where have you looked?'

'All downstairs, it took ages though because of the crowds.' Brittany replied.

'Come with me.' I walked upstairs with them in tow, looking inside the spare rooms and bedrooms.

'Fuck she's not here.' Santana scowled. 'Where the hell is she?'

'I have a feeling…' I shook my head, running downstairs with them straight behind. I went into the kitchen, looking out the window behind the sink.

'Is she there?' Britt asked.

'I don't know… there are a few people out on the grass, but I can't see who any of them are.'

'Lexie?' Brittany called from the bottom steps, pointing her out when she stood up, part of a circle of Cheerios, with Kitty next to her.

'Briiiiiiiitt!' She slurred, stumbling over to the short wall that separated the patio and lawn.

'She is in BIG trouble.' Santana raised an eyebrow, her eyes flashing as Lex stood on the wall, holding out her arms as Brittany got close to her; B got hold of her, picking her up, and she wrapped her legs around her waist.

'Lemme go and see what was happening.' I walked over to the others. 'Um, guys, what are you doing out here?' I smirked when I saw a couple bottles of different spirits, and a ton of plastic shot glasses all around the group.

'We were playing a game.' Kitty shrugged. 'I asked Lexie if she wanted to play, and she said yes.'

'Kay, thanks.' I ran back to Santana and Brittany. 'Drinking game… they were drinking shots of vodka, tequila, and Malibu…' I frowned when I realized how much that was for Lex. I mean for me that was kinda bad, but not for Lex!

'Alexandra Goodson!' Santana hissed.

'Taaaaana!' She giggled, still being held by Brittany.

'No, Alex! Why did you agree to play with Kitty? You _know _you're not allowed to drink! What if you drunk so much that you got sick? Or worse, collapsed? You could have got really sick, Lex!' She began to lecture her, her voice slowly rising.

'I…. I'm sorry Taaaana.' Lex's bottom lip quivered, and she began to cry.

'Alex… Lex, don't cry… come on, let's go home. Here, wear my jacket.' Santana shrugged off her leather jacket, putting it over Lexie's shoulders. 'B, c'mon…'

'Enjoy the rest of your birthday, Lauren! Thanks for helping us find Alex.' Britt smiled at me, adjusting Lexie on her hip before following Santana to the front door.

I followed the three through the kitchen, detouring to the living room to find Riker. 'Sorry about that, I...' I trailed off as I glanced out of the other door, to see Brittany stop dead in her tracks; frowning, I quickly pushed past people to get to the hallway… I froze when I saw my dad standing just in the door. Shit.

'LAUREN ANDERSON!' He shouted, frightening poor Lex. 'What on _earth _is happening in my house?'

'B-Britty… it's the scary man!' Alex whimpered, burying her head in Brittany's shoulder… but she's obviously had so much alcohol, I don't think she would have called my dad the 'scary man' if she was sober… at least not out loud.

'Um, Hey Dad, what...What are you doing back?' I said. Goddammit this was not meant to happen, not tonight. My eyes widened when he span towards me, and I tried not to make eye contact with him as San, Britt, and Lex quickly got out the house.

'Lauren…' He shook his head, striding into the living room and looking around. He then headed upstairs, and we could hear him shouting at people to get out of the house.

'Laur…' Blaine came to my side. 'We are in BIG trouble.'

'I know… I seriously know… Fuck!' I ran over to Riker and Kurt, pulling them to the side. 'Guys, get out NOW before he realizes you're both here.' I ordered them, accepting a quick peck on the cheek from Ri before they both sprinted out with the others that were leaving.

Dad made Quinn stay behind everyone else, and I sat between her and Blaine on the couch as he strode around the house, looking for property damage, as he put it.

'Why am I here?' Q whispered, biting her bottom lip.

'You're part of the family again, Quinn.' Blaine shrugged. 'You're being told off like when we were kids.' He immediately fell silent as we heard Dad's footsteps on the stairs.

'Lauren, Blaine, and Lucy.' Aaaaand Quinn's in major trouble too. 'I have no idea what you were thinking by throwing a party! Your mother persuaded me that you two can be trusted at home alone for two nights.' He pointed to Blaine and me. 'But obviously not. I am SO angry at you right now. Lucy, I am surprised that you would aid their… trouble.' I was waiting for the explosion… he was probably holding it in because of Quinn.

'I'm so sor-' She began. I mentally winced; it was probably not a good idea to interrupt him.

'I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT. Not yet, anyway.' He started to pace in front of us. 'You will start to clear and clean the house, all of you. When you are done, I will drive you home, Quinn.' Back to Quinn. Phew. 'Start. NOW!' He stormed out of the room, letting us get on with it.

'Right… right, we better start.' Blaine shrugged, standing up.

Santana's POV

B carried a half asleep Lexie into my house, and I sighed as I closed the door behind us all.

'What should I do, Sanny?' Britt asked anxiously.

'Take her upstairs, and I'll get a bottle of water for her.'

'Okay San! I'll put her in your room, so you can keep an eye on her overnight.'

'Where will you sleep, babe?'

'In the spare room, where Lex slept last night.' She smiled slightly.

'You're a genius, Britt. Meet you up there!' I winked at her, heading into the kitchen to grab the water.

I walked into my bedroom to find Lexie pouting while sitting on my bed, and a frustrated looking B.

'Um… guys… what's happening?'

'I wanna sleep!' Lexie snapped at me. '_She _won't let me.'

'Firstly, Alex, don't talk to me like that. Secondly, don't talk about Britt like that. Thirdly and most importantly, you need to stay awake while you drink this bottle of water and get changed into your pjs.'

'I'll go get them for ya.' Britt leant over and kissed me before skipping out of the room.

'Do you feel okay, Lex?' I sat next to her, handing her the water.

'I'm tiiiiiiired.' She whined. 'I feel a little sick as well….'

'Okay hon, I'm gonna get you a bucket, okay? Drink your water, you have to drink all of it before you go to sleep.' I stood up, going into my bathroom.

I woke up with a jolt, looking at the clock. 2am. As I wondered why I woke, I suddenly heard heaving from next to me; working in super-speed, I reached over and turned on my lamp, before rolling over to Lex.

'Alex, are you okay?' I rubbed her back as she continued to lean over the bucket.

'T-T-Tana…' She whimpered, laying on her back.

'Were you sick, baby?' I sat up, leaning over to get the fresh water bottle.

'No, Tana… I have a headache.' She pouted, snuggling into my side.

'Here, have some more water.' I opened it for her. 'And have these tablets.' I handed her a couple of aspirin.

'Thanks Tana. I don't like alcohol.' She frowned.

'I don't like you drinking it.' I raised my eyebrow at her, taking the bottle when she was finished. 'Ready to sleep again?'

'Yeaaaaah…' She sighed. 'Can… can I have a hug?'

'Of course, kiddo! Let me turn off the light, and I'll cuddle you to sleep.'

'Thank you Mama Tana.' She smiled slightly as I turned the lamp off, immediately curling into me when I laid back down.

Lauren's POV

I woke up kinda early the next day, stretching out and cracking my shoulders. I was in one of the Fabray's guest bedrooms; my dad forced me and Blaine out of the house in the early hours of the morning, and we decided to walk here, where Judy let us crash. Well, that was after he'd punched Blaine, slapped me, and pushed us both around for a while. That was definitely the worst I've ever had it, and I hated it. I guess I'll never have the perfect birthday. Just the thought of it brings tears to my eyes; Judy didn't comment when she let us in the house, simply giving us a few bags of ice each to stop bruising. Other than that, there's nothing she could do…. She done her best, and that helps us more than trying to stop our dad… that wouldn't help in the slightest.

'Hey Laur.' My door opened, and Quinn softly called out while walking into the room.

'Hey Q.' I sat up, smiling at her slightly.

'How you feeling this morning?'

'A little hungover, but mostly sore…' She nodded at me, handing me a glass of water and 2 pills. 'Thanks Quinn. So, um… what's the plan for today?'

'I was about to ask you about that… I was talking to San, and she suggested that a few of us meet up for food. Me, you, Blaine, San, Britt and Lex to start. I'm thinking Kurt and Riker? I'm guess they will wanna check up on you two. Maybe a few of their friends from Dalton?'

'Sure! That sounds awesome! Can we have a picnic?' I properly grinned when Quinn chuckled.

'That sounds great, Laurie!'

'Did San say how Lex is feeling?'

'Not good, I think. Why did she drink that much?'

'I think she was manipulated by some of the Cheerios…'

'Kitty?'

'Seems to be!' I nodded.

'We need to sort that out… Anyway, get dressed, and I'll meet you downstairs.'

'Kay, thanks Q.' I smiled at her, slowly getting out of bed and grabbing the clothes she left for me.

Quinn, Blaine and me walked to the edge of the park, immediately noticing Riker, Kurt, Nick, Trent, and a few other Warblers.

'Hey, Beautiful. How you feeling today? I was worried about you.' Riker leant down and kissed me then hugged m tightly.

'A little… stiff.' I shrugged, sitting next to him after everyone set out a load of blankets.

'I'll make you feel better.' He smiled, going to kneel behind me. 'How about a shoulder massage?'

'Oh wow… yes please Rikey!' I nodded, my eyes rolling back when he applied pressure to my shoulders. 'This… since when were you this good at massages, Ri? This is amazing!' I moaned slightly.

'I'm glad you're enjoying it, Laur.'

'Lex and the others are here!' Quinn pointed them out at the parking lot.

'Why have they stopped?' Riker frowned.

'Um…. Lex is trying to get Britt to pick her up.' I smirked, laughing when that's exactly what happened.

'So, how are you feeling today, Babybel?' I asked Lex as she sat curled up on San's lap.

'Horrible.' She pouted, suddenly looking up at me with wide eyes. 'Laur, was your dad mean to you last night?'

'I… uh… yeah, a little… I'm okay though Lex, don't worry.' I reassured her, smiling slightly. 'I love your outfit!' She was wearing the overalls that Sofia's aunt gave her after she was on Fondue that time.

'It's Tana and Britt's favorite.' She smiled. 'And they're super comfortable.'

'Well Santana's jacket looks cool with them!' I have a feeling San wasn't gonna get her jacket back…

'I'm hungry, Tana.'

'Good idea, Lex, let's start on the food!' Quinn winked at her, starting to empty the basket that Judy had prepared for us.

After we had all eaten, Nick suddenly stood up.

'Guys, I brought a couple of Frisbees, I thought we could have a game?' He held them up.

'Me too!' Both Quinn and Kurt laughed, throwing theirs into the middle of all of us.

'So we have…' I quickly counted them. '6 Frisbees in all... Awesome! Who's playing?' I laughed when everyone stood up, literally everyone. This is gonna be epic!

'Right!' Riker picked up the discs, handing them out to random people. 'Everyone spread out!' We all ran round the field, getting ready to run around and stuff.

'START!' I shouted, throwing the Frisbee that I had towards Trent.

'LAUR!' I turned to see Santana throwing hers towards me, and I jumped up just for it to skim past my hands.

'San! I'm not that tall!' I called back as I ran to go get it.

It was crazy, we were all just running round being stupid and having fun. This was like half an hour into the game, and none of us had lost any energy, it was so awesome.

'Ri!' I called over to him, tossing it sort of in his direction… I mean it was maybe a little bit to the left… He ran towards it, too focused to see Lexie run in front of him. He collided into her, both of them falling over, Riker landing pretty much on top of Lex. I noticed San's eyes go wide, and I watched to see what would happen… it could go bad, Ri is so tall, especially compared to the tiny Lexie.

'Hey that was funny!' She suddenly started to laugh, pushing Riker off her; I let out a relieved sigh that I didn't know I was holding.

'You okay, kiddo?' Riker smiled, getting up then helping Lex stand up.

'Yes thanks Ri!' She giggled, suddenly running off and grabbing the Frisbee that I threw, dashing away from Riker so he couldn't grab it from her.

'Aw Lex that was mine!' He playfully scowled, laughing when Lexie stuck her tongue out at him.

'Lauren!' Blaine called me, throwing me his disc and continuing the game.


	17. Chapter 17

Lauren's POV  
>'Don't worry, Mrs Anderson, I'll make sure Lauren listens to me.' I heard Quinn at the door, talking to mom.<br>'I'm sure you will, Lucy.' I rolled my eyes, laughing to myself, my mother refuses to call her anything other than that. I walked out my room and down the stairs.

'Thank you for teaching her how to drive.'  
>'It's my pleasure!' Quinn looked up as I walked down the stairs. 'Ready for lesson number 2, Lauren?'<br>'Yup, let's go!' I grabbed my purse, pulling Quinn out of the house, and into her car. 'So...Where am I driving to today, Q?'  
>'The Lima Bean? I'll buy us some coffee once we're there.'<br>'Sweet!' I grinned, putting the car into drive and pulling out of the drive carefully.  
>'Ok so remember slow and steady is key; only go as fast as you are comfortable for now. Keep looking in the mirrors, that's it...' Quinn started relaying instructions to me from the passenger seat '...Ok so take the next right. Then it's just a little way up and we are there!'<br>'Ok, will do!' I said putting on my indicator.  
>As I turned the corner, Quinn suddenly screamed. 'LAUREN LOOK OUT!' I saw a car speeding towards us before I blacked out. <p>

Quinn's POV

Shit shit shit oh my gosh what just happened? I looked round at Lauren, my eyes widening when I saw she was unconscious .Looking up I saw the other car speed away. Fuck! This is not good, I sat there for 30 seconds, not knowing what to do; what the hell, what do they do on TV? I grabbed my phone, keying in 911.

'Emergency services, what do you require?'

'Uhhhh...' God what do we need... 'Um ambulance? Please?'

'Okay, 1 second please' I waited for the phone to connect.

'Hello ambulance service, can you tell me where you are?'

'Uh the same street as the Lima Bean, Westgate Road?'

'Okay, there is an ambulance on the way. What's your name?'

'Lucy Quinn Fabray, I prefer Quinn.'

'Okay Quinn, can you tell me what happened please?'

'Um yeah my friend was driving, we went round the corner and we were hit side on by a speeding car, on the drivers side. My friend is blacked out, her name's Lauren Anderson, can you help please? She can't be hurt it should be me!'

'The ambulance is on its way, Quinn. Don't panic, we'll try our best to make sure your friend is okay.'

'Tell it to come soon.' I said, beginning to cry. Can this really be happening to us?

'It's coming as fast as possible, are you still in the car or are you able to get out?' As the lady carried on talking to me, I realised that my door was kinda indented and jammed into a lamp post, meaning I was squashed in a little... I tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. I leant over to the driver's door, that was stuck too.

'No, I'm stuck, both doors are jammed'

'Ok Quinn, just sit tight, the ambulance are just around the corner, there's also a fire truck to get you out. I'm going to leave you with them now.'

'Okay, thank you.' I hung up and grabbed Lauren's hand, squeezing it tightly. I really hope she's not too badly hurt...

I closed my eyes, my head against the headrest, trying to stop the ache in my shoulders, when I suddenly heard sirens close by. I opened my eyes just in time for the ambulance and fire truck to come round the corner, stopping just in front of my wrecked car.

'Lucy Fabray?' One of the paramedics came to my side.

'Yeaaaah...' I nodded, which hurt a little bit.

'Okay. we're going to get you out of here' As he said that a fireman came and wrenched both doors open, with a few other paramedics coming over too. The first paramedic looked me over.

'Okay, I want you to walk onto the back of the ambulance and sit down, sitting straight up, no slouching.'

'I can do that.' I nodded again. 'What about Lauren?' I looked over at all the others attending to her.

'We'll get the stretcher and strap her onto it.'

'Please be careful, don't hurt her!' I pleaded slightly.

'Don't worry, we'll make sure she isn't injured anymore than she already is, it is my job remember' He winked.

'Thank you.' I tried to smile slightly at him, wincing as he helped me stand up.

'Tell us if your back starts to hurt.'

'Got it. I watch enough reality TV to know what happens if my back hurts...' I managed to smile when the paramedic laughed.

'I'm glad about that. Now stay here while we look after Lauren.' He made sure I was sitting down.

'Okay.' I tried not to look as they had to pull her out the car, still unconscious.

Lauren's POV  
>I came round to a beeping sound. As I opened my eyes I realized where I was, hospital great... I pushed myself up and saw Quinn on the bed next to me talking to the doctor.<p>

'Quinn?' She looked over.

'Oh, Lauren, thank god...how are you feeling?'  
>'I feel a bit dizzy... How long was I out?'<br>'About half an hour, you hit your head pretty bad.'  
>'That car, I looked but, I didn't see it, I'm so sorry Quinn!' I said remembering what happened before I blacked out.<br>'It's ok Lauren, the car was speeding, you didn't have a chance of seeing it. At least we escaped with minor injuries, a few scratches and bruises each, mild concussion... but we're both okay.'

'You're right... but Q what about your car?'

'It's not completely totalled, but it'll probably be hard to fix...'

'Oh... I'm sorry, Quinn!' I repeated, frowning.

'It's not your fault, Laur. If that car wasn't speeding, we wouldn't be in hospital; we would be in the Bean right now.' She smiled at the doctor as he left the room. 'I called Blaine, he's on his way to see you.'

'Thank you, Q.' I smiled at her. 'I'm glad we're able to stay in the same room, I don't think I would be able to cope staying alone in hospital. I've had enough of that.'

'I know you have, Laur. At least we're together today.' She grinned. 'Anyway did you recognise the doctor?'

'Noooo...' I frowned.

'It was San's dad.'

'I didn't know her dad was a doctor.' I looked at Q weirdly, rolling my eyes when she laughed.

A few minutes later, the door opened, Blaine walking through a second later.

'Lauren! Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? Can you still walk?' He ran over, panicking. 'And Quinnie are you hurt? I can't believe this has happened!'

'Blainers! Calm down. We're fine. Just a little sore.' I said rubbing my head.

'Are you sure?'

'Blaine, I promise you, I'm okay.' I smiled. 'Besides, if I wasn't okay, they would be calling the parents... although it helps that Q is 18 already.'

'I'm so relieved, I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to you, either of you.' He bent down, hugging me tightly, and then going over and doing the same to Quinn. Suddenly, the door opened again, and Lexie appeared, running over to me.

'Lauren! Quinn!' She looked at us, wide eyed.

'Um, hey Lex, what are you doing here?' I patted the bed, letting her come sit next to me.

'Blaine was at my house when Quinn called, and I wanted to come too!'

'She was with me until Dr Lopez saw us, and I left them to have a conversation while I walked the rest of the way.' Blaine explained.

'Are you okay, Laur?'

'I'm good thanks, Lex. I'm a little bit sore and stiff, but I'm not hurt.'

'Good!' She smiled, wrapping her arms around me for a quick hug.

Quinn's POV

'Lauren, can we do something tomorrow, just me and you?' Lexie asked Lauren, as they sat together on the bed.

'Sure Babybel, maybe we can go for pizza or something. Hopefully they won't make me stay here...' Lauren grinned, whispering the last part.

'We haven't done anything together, just us, in ages.'

'No, we haven't! We will tomorrow though, it's gonna be awesome.' As they both chattered on, the door opened a third time.

'Oh hey Cooper!' I smiled at Lauren and Blaine's brother.

'Cooper?' Laur looked at me, confused, before looking at the door. 'Cooper! Oh my gosh!'

'Hey little sis!' He walked over at the same time as Blaine, all three of them catching up.

'I haven't seen you in forever Coop! I missed you so much!'

'Me too, you should come to visit more often.' Blaine nodded. As I watched them, I noticed Lex to the side, being kinda left out; her lip began to quiver, and she quietly slid off Lauren's bed, running over to me.

'Hey Lex.' I helped her climb up and lay beside me.

'Are you okay Quinn?' She whispered.

'I'm great thanks, Alex, just a bit tired.' I wrapped my arm around her.

Ten minutes later, and Lauren and Blaine were still talking excitedly with Cooper. When there was a comfortable silence, Coop suddenly walked over in my direction; I tried not to laugh when Lexie glared at him.

'Hey Lucy Q! I was so glad to hear that you and Lauren have become close again, it reminds me of old times.' He smiled.

'Uh, thanks Cooper! But I go by Quinn now...'

'Oh. Well it suits you much better. And who are you then?' He looked at Lex, she looked surprised.

'I... uh... I'm Lexie...'

'She's my boyfriend's cousin...' Blaine called over. '...And a very good friend of ours.' I smiled when Lex blushed, smiling as she buried her face in my side.

Lauren's POV

'So, guys.' Cooper sat on the bed. 'How have things been recently? You know, at home...'

'Not... not too bad...' Blaine shrugged.

'There was a... thing last week, and then he kicked us out.'

'At 4am... so we walked round to Q's house and stayed with her and Judy.'

'Are you still there?' Coop frowned.

'No, we were made to move back home on Tuesday.' I shrugged.

'And how has it been since then?'

'Not bad...'

'Well I'm going to talk to him.'

'No, Coop, you might just make it worse!'

'No, no I'm not. I'm going to make him stop. But first we need to talk about it, all three of us, about what's happening. I can't talk to him if I don't know everything… I need to protect you both, I'm your big brother.' He wrapped his arms around both of us. 'I love you both.'

'We love you too, Coop.' I smiled, kissing his cheek.

Half an hour later, the doctor had examined us, and then left to write things in our hospital records, before coming back with a smile.

'So I've decided that you're both able to go home. You'll have to take it careful for a few days, but there will not be any long lasting damage.'

'That's great! Thank you!' Quinn said before I got a chance to.

'I better be going, I'll leave you both to get yourselves sorted.' He began to walk towards the door, before suddenly turning around, looking at Lex. 'Are you coming over tonight, Lexie, to spend time with Santana?'

'Um yeah!' She smiled.

'I'll see you tonight then.'

'Kay, bye Carmelo!' She suddenly hugged him before he left.

'Right, so how are you getting home, girls?' Cooper looked at Quinn and Lex.

'Um, I don't know… I guess I'll have to call my mom…' Quinn replied, Alex just shrugging.

'No, don't bother Aunt Jude. I'll take you home, Q, and Lexie, Blaine will drop you home.'

'Okaaaay!' They both nodded.

'Laur, are you okay getting down?'

'Uh, yeah.' I grabbed his hand, it steadying me as I carefully stepped on the floor.

'Can you walk?'

'Coop! If I couldn't, would Dr Lopez send me home?'

'No… No, you're right. Come on then.' He smiled, also helping Quinn get down. 'We'll take it slowly, though.'

'Thank you, Cooper.' I smiled, letting him wrap his arm around my shoulders.

'Hey guys!' I slid into Santana's car the next day, turning round to wave at Lexie.

'Hi Lauren. How are you feeling today? Papi told me what happened.'

'I'm a little bit sore, but I'm okay, thanks.' I smiled at Santana.

'How was your dad when you got home?' She said quietly, making sure Lex couldn't hear her.

'He was okay, my older brother is at home right now, so he's… let's say on his best behavior.' I laughed.

'I guess that's good, at least for now.' She nodded.

'So…' I turned to look at Lex, rolling my eyes when she was staring out the window. 'What did you do last night Babybel?'

'Huh?' She looked at me.

'Last night? What did you do?'

'Oh. Me and Tana just hung out.' She shrugged; I looked at San, and she smirked.

'We just had a Lopez family night, that's how often she's round mine.'

'That's pretty awesome.' I nodded.

Lex and I sat in the pizza parlor, talking about stuff while waiting for the food.

'So how is it at home?' I asked, taking a sip of my drink.

'It's okaaaaay. Still weird though.' She wrinkled her nose.

'How is it weird?' I frowned.

'Well… it's like they don't wanna act like parents to me.' She looked down.

'In what way, sweetie?'

'I don't know… like in general. Say, if I was bad or something, they wouldn't tell me off in case it upset me. I know they're trying to help, but it's just making me feel worse…' She pouted.

'Ahh that sucks. Maybe you need to tell them how you feel?'

'I don't knooooowwww.' She whined.

'Either way, I guess you have San and Britt to tell you off.' I winked at her, smirking when she laughed.

'That's true, they're like my makeshift moms.'

'Here you go ladies.' The waitress smiled as she put our pizza on the table.

'Thank you.' I nodded, smiling back at her. As she walked off, I grabbed Lexie's plate, putting a couple slices on it for her. 'See how you get on with that.'

'Thanks Lauren!' She grinned, quickly picking one up and biting into it. 'This is really good.' She said while still chewing the bite.

'Don't speak with your mouth full, Lex.'

'Sorry.' She rolled her eyes as I started to eat. She was right though, it really is good pizza.

'Looking forward to school tomorrow?'

'No, school sucks.'

'Yeah it really does. We have glee in the afternoon though. That should be fun.'

'Hmm…' She shrugged, not looking convinced.

'Lex… Kitty's bullying you, isn't she?' I bought it up for the first time.

'What? No! We're… we're just friends, that's why she jokingly is mean to me…' She bit her bottom lip, looking away from me.

'Alex, I'm trying to look after you here. If she is, then I can make sure you're never alone around school, maybe get San, Britt, and Quinn to help.'

'I said she's not bullying me!' She crossed her arms, scowling at me.

'Okay then.' I held up my hands. 'Eat up.' I pointed at her plate, smirking when she immediately dropped her arms and ate.

Quinn's POV

I walked down the corridor, late to glee; I frowned when I walked round the corner, seeing Lauren sitting on the floor outside, a textbook on her lap.

'You okay, Lauren?' She looked up at me in surprise.

'Yeah, it was too loud in there, so I decided to come out to study.'

'Why are you studying _now_? It's time for glee!'

'It's two weeks till final's week starts. That's fourteen whole days I have to get ready for them.'

'Yeah I get that, but that doesn't mean you should be studying 24/7…' I helped her stand up.

'Quinn…' She whined slightly. 'My dad would kill me if I got anything under than all B's, what if I don't get them? I'm really scared Q, I don't think I can do it!' Her eyes flooded with tears.

'Lauren.' I put my hands on either of her upper arms. 'You're going to be okay. But, just to reassure you, how about we start doing study sessions? Every afternoon, my house.'

'You would do that for me? Yes please.' She nodded. 'Thank you so much, Q.'

'Why wouldn't I do that, Laur? Come on, let's go inside.' I grabbed her hand, pulling her inside, at about the same time Mr Schue walked in from his office.

Lauren's POV

I smiled as I walked to Lexie's locker in the morning, my face dropping when I could see she was frowning deeply.

'What's up Babybel? You look, to put it nicely, miserable.'

'Aunt Carole and Uncle Burt got a call from Principal Figgins. They're coming in for a meeting about me.' She mumbled.

'What? Do you know what it's about?' I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

'No.' She shrugged, looking away; she totally knows what it's about.

'Okay… do you want me to wait outside the office when it's time?'

'Um, yes please Laur.' She nodded. 'They're coming in at 12, but… Figgins is gonna call me when they need me.'

'Okay, if they send someone to get you, text me. Obviously I'll hear it if it's over intercom.'

'I will do, thanks Lauren.' I winked at her, hugging her with one arm as we began to walk down the corridor together.

Lexie's POV

'Alexandra Goodson, please come to the Principal's office, immediately.' Figgins' voice crackled through the speaker, and I felt my cheeks go red as the whole of my math class turned to look at me. I slowly stood up, dragging myself to the office; I smiled slightly at Lauren, surprised to see Santana waiting outside too.

'Tana, what are you doing here?' I whined slightly.

'Don't you want your Mama Tana to see why you're at the Principal's office?' She made her scary face, raising her eyebrow.

'I mean I'm glad, but…' I looked down.

'I heard the call and I used a pass to get out of class to see what's happening.' She shrugged, smirking. 'Anyway, you better head on in.' She nodded towards the office, and I turned to see Carole looking at me; I paled, taking a deep breath before walking inside.

I sat down in between Carole and Burt, avoiding eye contact with both of them, staring stubbornly at the ground.

'Alexandra, do you know why you're here?' Figgins asked.

'You're gonna tell me anyway.' I huffed, cringing when I heard sighs coming from Carole and Burt.

'Final's week is in eight school days, including today. I've been speaking to your teachers, and none of them think you are ready at this point. It looks like you will not pass any of your classes, apart from Spanish. You are on course to failing, and having to repeat your Freshman year.' I felt myself gasp.

'WHAT?' I shouted, standing up. 'Why the _hell _do I have to repeat this year? How can you make me do this?!' I slammed my hands on his desk angrily.

'Sit down.' Burt pulled on my arm to get me back on the chair. 'Listen to what he has to say, because it is all your own fault. Now apologize.'

'Sorry.' I mumbled. 'Why is it my fault?' I began to fiddle with the plaited thread bracelet that was on my wrist.

'In that week that you were off school, you were given work to do. You did not do any of that work; you have since been back for two weeks, and have not completed any homework, and have barely contributed in class.'

'And?' I scowled.

'Your teachers have not seen any progress in class, and cannot safely say that you will pass your exams. How do you expect to pass if you do not do the work!' He sat back. 'Another issue is your attitude in class. The only teacher that hasn't said you just sit there sulking is Mr Schuester.'

'Whatever.'

'Is there anything we can do to help Alex pass her finals?' Carole asked.

'Well, unless Alexandra works very, very hard to catch up with her classmates, then probably not, no.'

'Oh for _fuck's SAKE!' _I jumped up, pushing a big stack of paper off of Figgins' desk and on to the floor, spinning round and kicking my chair over, before running out of the room, and straight into Santana.

'Alex, what's wrong?'

'JUST LEAVE ME ALONE.' I pushed her away slightly.

'Le-' Lauren started.

'NO, JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!' I burst into tears, sprinting down the corridor to I don't know where… just away.

I laid on the floor in the back of the choir room, behind a few rows of chairs, when the door opened. Watching as whoever opened it walked in, I frowned when they sat in the back row, just in front of me.

'Shouldn't you be studying?' Santana said, and I could hear the anger in her voice.

'I don't wanna.' I scowled. 'I don't need to.'

'Carole told me and Lauren what's going on.' She stood up, moving a few of the chairs forward a bit so she could lay next to me, holding my hand. 'Why haven't you been doing any of your work, sweetheart?'

'I don't know.' I shrugged. 'It's just… hard.'

'Baby, you could have asked for help from your teachers! Or me, I would have happily helped you, Quinn and Lauren would too.'

'I guess… I just didn't want to bug you.'

'Oh Lex! We're always together, it would have been no trouble! You were round my house on Saturday night, we could have been productive, rather than just sitting there watching TV with my parents. Anyway tomorrow, we're going to talk to all of your teachers to ask them what you need to do to catch up before finals week.'

'Kay.' I nodded, pouting slightly.

'Anyway, it's lunchtime, so let's do some of your homework.'

'Hmm.' I frowned. 'Can I go to the bathroom first?'

'Of course, meet you back here, okay?'

'Okay!' I smiled brightly, standing up and walking out of the room.

'What's wrong with you?' I sighed when Kitty walked into the bathroom.

'Uh, just… stuff. I don't really wanna be here.' I looked down. 'I want to go home.'

'Go on then.' She shrugged.

'What?' I narrowed my eyes.

'Go home. Skip the rest of the day.' She paused. 'Unless, you know, you're too much of a baby. Actually what am I saying, you're definitely too much of a baby. You'd never skip, which means poor little Lexie has to suffer through the next two hours of school.'

'I'm not too much of a baby!' I shook my head.

'Go home then.' She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at me.

'Fine, I will!' I span around to leave.

I pushed the front door open, feeling sick to my stomach. I should be in history right now, followed by Spanish. Damn I forgot about Spanish, Santana's going to be so mad at me. I tried to throw off the feeling, running up to my room to put my TV on. The Disney Channel will make me feel better, it usually does.

'_You are in BIG trouble, little girl. I am coming to see you after school, I hope you can explain to me why you left.' _I gulped at Santana's text, frowning when I got a second one from Britt.

'_Alex, why did you leave Sanny? She was really worried about you, and so was I! I missed having you sitting on my lap at lunch, you better do it during glee tomorrow to make up for it xxxx' _They were worried about me? The sick feeling grew, and I closed my eyes to try take my mind off it.

Santana's POV

I'm so confused. Why did Lexie leave school? That is seriously not like her, there must be a reason… I'm also kinda mad though, she knows she's not allowed to skip lessons; even Mr Schue was angry at her, and he's hardly ever angry. I sighed as I closed my car door outside the Hudmel's house, walking up to the door and knocking.

'Hey Santana, what are you doing here?' Burt opened the door, smiling.

'I was hoping I could talk to Alex? I think I have a plan to help her out with her work.'

'Sure, come on in.' He moved out the way.

'Thanks Mr Hummel, I'll tell you about it once I've discussed it with her.' He nodded at me, gesturing up the stairs so I could go to her room.

I rolled my eyes when I walked in to see Lexie asleep, with her television on and showing the children's channels; I sat on her bed, gently moving her grown-out bangs out of her face as I called her name.

'Lex? It's time to wake up!' I smirked when she groaned. 'Come on Alex, we have to talk!'

'I don't wanna…' She whined, pouting as I helped her sit up.

'I know, but it's important.' I watched as she rubbed her eyes, looking at me warily. 'Why did you leave school?'

'I…' She grabbed her stuffed bear, squeezing it to her chest as she gulped. 'I was scared, Tana. What if I can't catch up? What if I have to redo the year?'

'I know that's scary, Lex, but you won't know unless you talk to your teachers. Actually, skipping school was definitely the wrong thing to do.'

'Am I in trouble?' She whispered.

'I don't think so, at least not with the school.'

'With you?'

'Unless I see you working hard for your tests, then you are banned from going to the Senior Prom as part of the glee club.'

'Noooo Tana!' She whined. 'I really wanted to go!'

'Well then you have to try catch up with your work.' I smirked. 'Want to hear my plan at how you're going to do that?'

'Yes please Tana.'

'Okay so tomorrow, I'm going to pick you up at 7:45, and we are going into school to talk to each one of your teachers, to ask them what you can do to pick up your grades. Q told me that she is having study sessions with Lauren every afternoon, and has invited us along. As well as that, you're coming round mine on a Saturday, and we're going to work all day, and maybe finish with a movie or something in the evening. It's going to be hard, and you're going to have to work your butt off, but it'll be worth it.'

'Thank you so much, Tana.' She threw her arms around me. 'I'm going to try my hardest, I don't want to disappoint you.'

'As long as you _do _try your hardest, then I will be proud of you no matter what, okay?'

'Kay.' She nodded, smiling. 'Can we go out? Before I have to spend all my time studying?'

'Sure!' I laughed. 'Let's go pick up Britt and Lauren, and we'll go bowling.'

'Awesome, thanks!' She giggled, immediately getting off the bed.

The next morning, I walked into school with my arm around Lexie, and luckily it was pretty quiet.

'Where do you want to go first, Lex? We've got 14 teachers to go see, not including PE.'

'Um history?' She shrugged, biting her lip.

'Okay, come on then.' I led her to the classroom, smiling at the teacher when he looked up at us.

'Hi girls, what are you here for?' He asked, and I prodded Lex to speak, sighing when she looked up at me, not saying anything.

'Yesterday, Lex and her guardians had a meeting about her schoolwork…'

'Ah yes…' He sat down.

'We were wondering if there's anything she can do to catch up? We're going to ask all of her teachers before homeroom.'

'Ah good to see you finally working, Lexie.'

'Thanks.' She smiled slightly.

'I'll make up a work packet for you to work through.' He began to note things down. 'Come by at the end of school to collect it. If I haven't completed it, I'll put it on Mr Schuester's desk so he can give it to you after glee has finished.'

'Kay, thanks Mr Smith.' She nodded.

'Thank you.' I added. 'We better go, see you later Sir.'

'Bye Santana, Lexie.' He nodded at us once to say goodbye, before we left to go to the art rooms.

'Right, so you've got an art project, an IT project, and 11 work packets to do, and a cookbook to make for home economics. That's a hell of a lot of work to do, Lex.' I frowned.

'I know, Tana. But I wanna try complete them.' She grinned with a determined look on her face.

'Good! I'm telling you now, just to warn you, that I'm not going to do the work for you. I'll help you, but you have to do the work for yourself and you need to keep up the current work as well.' I smirked when she nodded.

'Thank you for doing this for me, Tana.'

'I knew you wouldn't do it on your own.' I winked at her, kissing her forehead as the bell went off. 'I better go, see you at recess?'

'Kay, see you later!' She smiled, hugging me before I left her homeroom, with a wave at Mr Schue.

Lexie's POV

I walked into the cafeteria, smiling when I saw Brittany standing up at the other side of the room, waving me over to her; I ran over, giggling when she hugged me tightly.

'Hey Lex!' She pulled me to sit on her lap. 'What have you got for lunch, sweetpea?'

'Uh, I don't know…' I reached into my bag and pulled out my lunchbox. 'PJ&B.' I grinned.

'Niiiice! I've got cheese and ketchup, wanna half them and swap? I know that's your favorite…'

'Uh huh, thanks Britty.' I grinned, watching as she swapped the halves.

'Sup guys?' Lauren sat down next to us.

'Britt just swapped half of our sandwiches.' I nodded.

'Have you got anything for me to swap?'

'Uhhhh….' I watched as she put her own box on the table to show what she had. 'We could break our candy bars in half?' I shrugged.

'Good idea Babybel!' She smiled. 'So have you spoken to your teachers yet?'

'Yep, Tana took me to see them all this morning. I have a lot of work to do.'

'Well you should have done your work this past few weeks, then.' She smirked when I narrowed my eyes at her. 'What, it's true!'

'Humph.' I scowled, turning my back on her.

'Aww come on Lex, you know I'm only playing with you!'

'Hmm…' I turned back around, reaching over to hug her.

'Hey guys, what's all that you have?' Mr Schue turned to me and Santana as we walked in late to glee.

'It's Lexie's catch up assignments.' Santana smirked.

'Oh, that reminds me.' He walked into his office, coming back and putting the Spanish packet on top of the pile I was holding. 'Here you go.'

'Thanks.' I said sarcastically, going to put my things on a table to the side, before going to sit down.

'Leeeex, you're sitting on my lap remember, you promised!' Brittany called from the back row, and I grinned, climbing over there. 'That's better.' She smiled, wrapping her arms around my waist.

'Okay everyone! Nationals rehearsals…!' Mr Schue stood in front of all of us.

Lauren's POV

I sat in Quinn's dining room, trying my hardest to concentrate on my biology work. This is ridiculous, how am I supposed to pass this? Instead I leant my chin in my hands, watching Lexie work on math.

'Tanaaa, I'm stuck.' She pouted.

'What's up?' San took her workbook. 'Come here Alex.' She moved back slightly, letting Lexie sit on her lap. 'We can work through this. Okay so firstly, what's 3 squared?'

'9.'

'And now add it on to this.' I watched Lexie focus on what Santana was saying, the work becoming increasingly clearer to her.

'So… 193?'

'Yes! Well done Lex! Now see if you can do the next one on your own.'

'Um kay.' As Lexie started the next question, San looked up at me, smiling slightly.

'Are you okay Lauren?'

'Huh? Yeah, I've just lost focus…' She nodded, turning back to Lex when she prodded her.

'Is it 56, Tana?'

'Yes it is, Lex! Well done sweetie!' Santana hugged her tightly. 'Now, try do the rest of them while I help Lauren.'

'Okay Tana!' She nodded, as I raised my eyebrow at Santana as she came around the table.

'What's wrong? You said you were unfocussed…' She sat down in Quinn's seat, next to me.

'Oh. I don't know, I'm just bored I guess.' I shrugged.

'Come on, you need to work through it. Have you tried other ways of studying?'

'What do you mean?'

'Like… right now, you're just reading. Have you tried making flashcards?'

'No…'

'Maybe you should.' She shrugged. 'It'll at least break up the reading you're doing, making it stick in more.'

'Yeah I guess, thanks San.' I smiled when she hugged me, Quinn walking in the room and putting drinks on the table for all of us. 'Q, have you got card please? And scissors?'

'Um I should do…' She span on the balls of her feet and walked back out.

Okay I am actually shattered. We have been working _forever._

'Quinn, what's the time?' I asked after throwing my pen on the table.

'Um…' She checked her phone. '6:30! Wow, we've been working for 3 hours!'

'Does that mean we can stop now?' Lex mumbled, looking as if she was about to fall asleep.

'I think it does!' Santana closed her books.

'Girls, how's it going?' Judy walked in.

'We've just finished, Mom.' Quinn smiled.

'Okay, it looks like you've all worked hard! Are you all staying for dinner?' She looked at the rest of us.

'Um, no thanks, I promised I'd get Lex home by 7.' Santana replied.

'Ah okay, what about you Lauren?'

'Yes please!' I grinned.

'Where have you been?' Dad demanded when I walked into the kitchen that evening.

'At Aunt Judy's house. I went there with Quinn to study, and then I stayed for dinner.'

'Studying for what?'

'Finals, they start the week after next. I'm trying to make sure I pass all of my exams, like you would want me to.'

'Fine. I would have preferred to have been told.' He said shortly. 'Go to bed.'

'Uh… Okay, goodnight Pa.' I frowned, confused, slowly spinning on the balls of my feet to head upstairs. I thought he would be happy with me studying for him. Obviously not.

I slumped down next to Lexie in the choir room after school, where we were meeting Q and San.

'I really can't be bothered today.' I sighed.

'You have to study so you don't make your dad angry.' She whispered.

'I know, Babybel. I unfortunately know.' I patted her shoulder awkwardly. 'So what are your plans for the weekend?'

'I'm sleeping round Tana's house today and tomorrow night.' She grinned. 'Her mom's going to help me do my cookbook for home economics by cooking traditional Latin food all day tomorrow.'

'Sweet! That's really nice of her.'

'Uh huh.' She nodded. 'Tana's gonna be taking pictures for my art project and IT projects as well.'

'What do you have to do for them?'

'Uh, sorta presentations about my day.'

'Oh okay, sounds more fun than my work.' I smirked.

'What about you, Laur?'

'What, my weekend?' She nodded. 'Um well I'm staying round Q's house tonight, so we can study in the morning. Then Riker's picking me up and we're going for lunch.' I smiled softly.

'Really? Awesome! You guys are the _best _couple!' She grinned, sitting up. 'Tell me how it goes because you guys need to stay together forever.' She bit her lip for a second. 'Just like Britt-Britt and Tana.'

'Ya we do.' I winked at her. 'Ooh, talking about this weekend, do ya think San will let you have Sunday afternoon off?'

'I might let her. What's up?' I turned to see Santana walking through the glee office, raising an eyebrow at me.

'There's a Warbler event going on, and Blaine has invited me and Lex along. There's a performance followed by a kinda afternoon tea.'

'Ooh that sounds fun! Can I go please Tana?'

'Let's see how much work you do tonight and tomorrow, okay? I'm sure you can go though.'

'That seems fair.' Lexie shrugged, smiling at me.

'See you later Laur, have fun!' Quinn called as I walked down her driveway.

'Will do, bye Q!' I smirked as I got to the car. 'Hi Riker.'

'Hey Beautiful!' He quickly leant down for a deep kiss. 'For you.' He opened the passenger side door.

'Thanks Rikey.' I smiled softly as I slid into the car. 'So, where are we going?' I asked when he had also got in.

'I have a couple choices, but where do _you _want to go? That's the most important question.'

'Uuuum TGI's?'

'TGI's it is then.' He smiled.

'Really? Awesome, thanks!' I grinned. 'I love TGI's, I haven't been there in ages.'

'Well, you are today.' He winked at me just before we got onto the main road.

I sat opposite Riker in the restaurant, swooning about how amazing Riker looks under the dim lights above us.

'What?' He looked up from the menu.

'Nothing. I was just admiring… this lighting, it makes you look great.'

'Everything is perfect for you, Beautiful. Whatever lighting or clothing or… whatever… you're always perfect. So what do you want?' I blushed, rolling my eyes at the way he can just change subject like that.

'Um how about we share an appetizer? I know exactly what I'm having for the main.' I smirked, looking away with a grin when a waiter came by and Riker ordered the exact drink I wanted without asking me.

'Sure. Nachos?'

'Yup.' We know each other so well. 'What are you having after that?'

'I don't know… do you know what you're having?'

'The Jack Daniels burger. As always.' I shrugged.

'Hmm, I think I might have steak… Yeah, steak.' He nodded.

'Open up, Beautiful.' He put some chocolate cheesecake on his spoon, reaching over the table.

'Okay.' I smirked, letting him feed me. 'Mmm…'

'Good, right?' He smiled.

'SO good, oh my god!' I grinned. 'Do you wanna try some of my vanilla mousse?'

'Sure!' He shrugged, and I got some on my spoon, doing the same thing to him as he did to me.

'That is amazing! It's so smooth!' He nodded, impressed.

'We're such dorks, you know that right?' I giggled.

'It's romance and it's awesome.' He frowned, pretending to be offended. 'But yeah that was kinda sappy.' He laughed, flipping his soft blonde hair out of his eyes.

'I love you, Ri.' I ducked my eyes slightly.

'I love you too, Laur. We're a perfect match.' He held my hand over the table.

The next day, I knocked on Santana's front door, smiling when it opened a few seconds later.

'Hey Lauren!' She walked away, motioning for me to follow her.

'So how's Lex been? Is she allowed to come to the Warbler thing with me?' I asked as we walked into the dining room, seeing Lexie sitting at the table writing in one of her workbooks.

'Lexie, honey, do you think you've worked hard enough to go?' Santana sat next to her.

'I guess…' She shrugged. 'I don't know. What do you think, Tana?'

'Well, you've been a very good girl this weekend, and have done a lot of work. So yes, you can go.'

'Yay! Thanks Tana!' Lexie wriggled onto her lap, hugging her tightly.

'Go and get the box from the kitchen, and you can get going.' Santana smiled widely.

'Kay!' She ran off.

'Get your bro to drop Lexie here, so she can pick all her things up. I'll take her home after.'

'Yeah that makes sense.' I nodded. 'Ready to go, Babygirl?'

'Uh huh!'

'Lex, make sure you're good while you're at Dalton, okay? Lauren will tell me if anything happens.'

'I know, I will. Bye Tana!' Lexie threw her arms around Santana, both of them hugging, before she came over to me, slipping her hand into mine.

'Hey Lex!' Blaine smiled as we got into the car.

'Hi!' She put her arms around the driver's seat, effectively hugging him from behind.

'What's in the box, Babybel?' I asked, turning back and pointing at the plastic container she had with her.

'Cookies! There's two types of Puerto Rican cookies, some are called Mantecaditos, which are like almond sugar cookies. The rest are like shortbread, but I can't remember what they're called… Anyway Tana's mom Maribel helped me make them, they are so good! So I bought some to share with you guys and Kurt and Riker. We also made dinner, and some cakes and things…' She started rambling, so I rolled my eyes with a chuckle and turned back around.

'I can't wait to see you perform today, Blainers.'

'Yeah it's gonna be great! I have someone to introduce to you guys, actually.'

'Oh?' I looked at him.

'Yeah, we have a new member. He joined a couple weeks ago, and I think he'll be a good friend for Lex. He's still a kid, really, just like her. Not in the same way, but he's still getting used to things, and… you'll see, anyway. I just think that he'll get on with Lexie.'

'Awesome!' I nodded.

I took a seat in Dalton's assembly hall, getting ready to watch the performance. After a few moments, I realized that Lex hadn't sat down yet, and she was just standing next to me. I rolled my eyes, patting my lap; her eyes lit up, and she gently sat on my lap, snuggling into me when I put my arms around her.

'Thanks Lauren.' She whispered.

'Anytime, Babybel.' I winked at her, turning to the 'stage', which was a slightly raised platform when the guys ran onto it. Riker stood at the front of the stage, in the middle of the others. Grabbing the mic, he searched for me in the crowd, winking at me before starting the song.

'_Uptown girl, she's been living in in her uptown world…' _He started relatively slowly, before the rest of the group started singing background harmonies, doing some cool boy band moves; then the music fastened up again. _'I bet she never had a back street guy, I bet her mama never told her why…'_

'Hey guys!' Riker walked up to Lexie and I after the show. He leant down and hugged me, high fiving Lexie.

'You were great up there.' I vaguely nodded my head in the direction of the stage.

'Ah thanks! I perform way better when you're in the audience.' He kissed me lightly, both of us aware that Lexie was still sitting on my lap.

'Look Kurt and Blaine are coming over!' Lexie suddenly said loudly, running the couple meters to meet them, pushing Riker out of the way slightly. 'Guuuuys, you were awesoooome!' She grinned as Kurt wrapped her in a warm hug.

'Thank you Lex!' He smiled at her.

'So who did you want us to meet, Blainers?' I stood up.

'Oh!' He walked off for a second, coming back with some boy. 'Guys, this is Max. Max, this is my sister Lauren, and Kurt's cousin Lexie.'

'Heeeeey dudes!' He smiled at us.

'Hi! Your hair's funny.' Lexie wrinkled her nose slightly, looking at his gelled hair, breaking the ice for all of us.

'Thanks.' He smirked sarcastically. 'So is yours.' He pulled on one of her braids.

'Heeey!' She pouted, pushing him. I rolled my eyes, turning back to the others as they started mucking around.

Santana's POV

I heard my front door open, so I headed towards it, to see Lexie walk in, look really happy.

'Hey Lex!'

'Hi Tana!' She grinned.

'Are… are you okay?'

'Uh huh! I have a new friend!'

'Really? Niiiice!' She needs new friends.

'Yeah his name's Max, he's 14 just like me! He's really funny.'

'Good, I'm glad.' I chuckled, hiding my worry; I think I need to keep an eye on this friendship, we don't want any...developments…


	18. Chapter 18

Lauren's POV

'Hey guys!' Santana said letting me and Quinn into her house. 'Do you want any drinks?'

'Um, I'll have a lemonade please San.' I grinned, going into her dining room.

'Laur! You're finally here!' Lexie jumped up, hugging me tightly.

'Yup! I need to finish studying, finals starts tomorrow. I need Santana to help me with Spanish.'

'I can do that.' She walked in, handing me a glass of drink.

'Thanks San! To the drink and the help.' I laughed, sitting at the seat she pointed at. 'So, Babybel, have you finished your work packets yet?'

'Almost.' She shrugged. 'I'm almost finished with biology, and then I've got half of my history work left.' She pulled a face.

'You don't like history, huh?' I chuckled.

'No, it sucks.' She pouted.

'Come on guys, let's start working.' Quinn shook her head at us, smirking.

Santana smiled at me encouragingly.

'Come on Laur, you can do this! You're good at Spanish!'

'I guess…' I shrugged, frowning at her.

'So, in Spanish, tell me a couple of your favorite things.'

'Mi color favorito es... el azul y me gustan ...los gatos?' I said apprehensively, looking at Santana nervously.

'Your favorite color is blue and you like cats?' I nodded. 'Well done Lauren! See, I said you can do it!

'Really? Thanks San. Can we do that with more sentences like that?'

'Sure we can! Go ahead…' She grinned.

'Tanaaaa, can you help me with history?' Lexie whined, interrupting me.

'I'll help you Lex, what's wrong?' Quinn asked, moving closer to her.

'No, I want Tana to help me.' Lex scowled stubbornly.

'Sweetheart, I'm helping Lauren right now. Quinn can help you.' Santana smiled reassuringly.

'NO!' Lex snatched her book away from Quinn. 'I want Tana's help!'

'Alex, calm down.' Santana said warningly.

'No!' She cried, throwing her pen across the room; Q and I looked at each other, wide eyed.

'Alexandra Goodson!' Santana stood up, yanking Lex out of her seat. 'This attitude of yours has lasted since this morning, and I'm fed up of it. You are going to spend 15minutes in timeout.'

'Noooo Tana!' Alex whined, stomping her foot.

'Put your hands on your head, and don't move.' Santana put her in the corner, facing the wall.

'Alex, you can come out of the corner now.' Santana said from her seat, Lexie quickly turning around and walking to the table.

'Tana?' She whispered, biting her bottom lip.

'Come here honey.'

'Tana…' Lexie collapsed into Santana's lap, bursting into tears.

'Baby, why are you crying?' Santana frowned, hugging her tightly.

'I'm sorry I was naughty.' She hid her face in San's neck, sniffling.

'You weren't naughty, sweetheart. You had some attitude, but you weren't naughty. Besides, it's all cleared up now. Lex, that was the first time I've given you a proper timeout… how did you feel about it?'

'It felt kinda natural, I guess. You can do it again, if you want. Ya know, like… next time.'

'Oh honey.' Santana laughed. 'I will do. You should get back to your history now. Once you're done, you can have a nap, okay?'

'Kay, thanks Mama Tana!' She grinned, wiping her eyes as she sat in her own chair again.

'Man I love this little group of ours.' I smirked, giggling.

Quinn's POV

I just walked out of my AP calculus class, after doing my final. This feels really weird, I mean that was my last ever test for that class! As I started walking down the corridor, I felt a buzz in my cardigan pocket; pulling out my cell, I saw that I had a text from Lauren.

'_Choir room…Now. I need you…' _I frowned, spinning on my heels and running down to the room; if Lauren needs me, then I'm going to help her. I'm not making that mistake again.

'Lauren?' I got in there, closing the door behind me.

'Quinnie?' She whispered, and I found her sitting against the cupboards, underneath the whiteboard.

'Laurie, what's wrong?' I sat next to her, wrapping one arm around her.

'That was… that was just so bad.' Her breath shuddered, and she started crying. 'I'm going to fail chemistry and my dad's gonna be mad and he's gonna hi- well, you know and then he'll take it out on Blaine and that's not fair because Blaine's gonna get hurt because I'm an idiot and a failed and I can't breathe.' She almost started hyperventilating.

'Laur! Deep breaths.' I rubbed her back. 'That's it. Now, obviously I don't know how you've done yet, but I'm sure you've got at least your B! And if you haven't… well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But remember, if anything happens, all you need to do is call me up, and you can come over. Both you and Blaine.'

'I know, thanks Quinnie. I'm scared though. I mean I just can't fail.'

'I know exactly how you feel, babe, remember? Let's forget about chemistry for now, and concentrate on the rest of your tests, do you think you can do that?'

'I'll try…' She shrugged, sniffing, leaning into me.

'What's next? Algebra, right?' She nodded. 'Okay, let's go. You're awesome, Laur, remember that. Even if you get lower than a B in one – or all – of your finals, you're still gonna be awesome.'

'I'm not gonna try for me, or even my dad. I'm going to try my best for _you _Quinn. Well, and Blaine. You two are my only real role models, and I would hate to disappoint you. But yeah, I should get going before I'm late. See you at recess Quinnie!' She stood up, grabbing her bag before running out of the room.

Lauren's POV

I turned over the page, grinning when I realized I have like 5 questions left… I've nearly finished!

"_Simplify the algebraic expression: -2(x-3) + 4(-2x+8)"_

Yes! I can do that! I know I can do that, because Quinn tested me on it and I was awesome at it! I quickly scribbled down some workings out, coming to the conclusion of _-10x + 38. _Yup, I'm happy with that answer. I like algebra, I'm pretty good at it.

After I finished my test, I walked out of class, almost skipping. As I turned the corner, I almost walked straight into Q and Lexie, by Q's locker.

'Hey guys!' I grinned, hugging both of them.

'You're smiling! Went well?' Quinn smirked at me.

'Yup! It was great.' I laughed. 'I actually feel pretty confident about the other tests now.'

'Good! I knew it would be okay! Let's just hope you feel as good about the others.'

'I'll try.' I shrugged, grinning as we headed to the choir room.

I walked into homeroom on Friday, happy that it's a half day. At least for the glee members and Seniors. Prom should be gooood tonight.

'Hey Laur.' Sofia smiled as I sat next to her. 'Look.' She nodded at the teacher's desk.

'What? I don't see anything.' I frowned as I glanced over there.

'Can't you see that little pile? It's the report cards, the grades from the finals.'

'Oh… oh god.' I pulled a face, biting my lip as the teacher handed them out, starting with me. Man, why did my surname have to start with A? Goddammit. I looked down, scanning the grades. _B, b, b, a, b, b, c…_ fuck...D... That's seriously not good ,and the rest were B's. Damn, 2 that aren't B's. My dad's gonna go crazy, when he finds- no, wait… if he finds out…What he doesn't know won't hurt him...

Santana's POV

I walked into Principal Figgins' office, frowning when I saw Lex there, looking kinda nervous, along with Mr Schue.

'Um hey guys, what's up? Why have I been called in?' I asked, looking at Mr S.

'Lexie was about to find out her finals results, when she decided that she wanted you in here…' He smirked.

'Okaaaaay… budge.' I nudged Lex, making her stand up so she could sit on my lap when I took her spot.

'Thanks Tana.' She whispered.

'So… what's happened?' I looked at Principal Figgins.

'Alexandra has passed all but one of her tests.' He shook his head.

'What?' She said sadly, looking as if she was about to cry. 'Tana… I… I failed.' Her lip began to quiver.

'It's okay darling, we'll get this sorted out. What subject was it?' I looked at Figgins.

'It was math, and only by about 3 marks.'

'What does this mean?'

'She will be retaking her Freshman year.'

'No. No she won't. Come on, Alex. Let's go talk to your teacher.' I stood her up, taking her hand to lead her out of the office and down the corridor.

'Hi Mrs F, can we talk?' I poked my head around her homeroom classroom. 'Outside.'

'Sure Santana, give me a minute.' I nodded, closing the door again.

'Are you okay?' I asked when I noticed Lexie was staring at the ground, playing with the bracelet on her wrist.

'Are you mad?' She whispered.

'Mad? No I'm not. You passed most of your tests, and you tried so hard with those work packet things. I'm pretty happy with you, actually.' I put my arms round her, kissing the top of her head when the teacher came out.

'Santana and… Lexie. What can I do for you guys?' She asked kindly.

'Because Lexie failed your test, she will have to retake the year. It's a real shame, because she's worked damn hard with her work packets last week… is there any way you can bump up her grade or something?'

'Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! Well, it's too late to change the grade… but I can let Lexie retake the test? Then she has another chance to pass. Will that be enough?'

'That'll be perfect, thank you so much Mrs F.' I grinned.

'Uh huh, thanks!' Lexie said sweetly, smiling.

'I know you're part of the glee club, so will be leaving early, but can you stop by before you go? It'll be lunch, so you can take it and I'll mark it on the spot.'

'I can do that, see you later.' Lexie giggled, pulling me down the corridor. 'Can you wait for me Tana?'

'I was already planning on it.' I winked at her. 'Come on, let's get our study on.'

I sat outside the math room, staring at my phone and trying to be productive on it. Well, if playing games is productive…

'Tana?' I heard a harsh whisper, and I looked up to see Lexie just coming out of the room.

'Hey, how did that go?' I patted my lap, and she sat in my crossed legs while shrugging.

'It was okay, I feel pretty good about it. Um… can I still go to prom if I failed?'

'Uuuum… yeah you can. I said you could go if I think you tried hard these past couple weeks, and that's exactly what you've done. So yes you can come.'

'Thanks Tana.' She grinned, cutely kissing my cheek. We chatted for a while, waiting for the teacher to come back out.

'Hey guys!' She walked out of the room, and we quickly stood up to see what she had to say.

'So?'

'I have to go talk to Principal Figgins… because a B+ isn't a fail.' She smirked, grinning at the squeal Lexie produced. 'I didn't even need to be lenient.' She whispered.

'Thank you so much for this.' I smiled.

'Have a good prom girls, I can't wait to see your club perform!' The teacher winked at us, before walking away.

'Tana! I did it!'

'And I am so very proud of you.' I bent down. 'Come on, I think you've earned a piggy back ride.'

'Yaaay thanks Tana!' She giggled, quickly jumping up.

'Secured?'

'Yup, let's go!' I rolled my eyes, happily walking towards the parking lot.

Lauren's POV

I nervously walked into the house, trying to avoid everyone as I tried to get to my room.

'Lauren?' Dammit.

'Hey Dad.' I turned on the stairs, smiling at him. 'Everything okay?'

'Report card?' He held his hand out expectantly.

'Um… there was a mix up with the grades. We can't get them until next week.'

'A mix up, you say?'

'Yeaaah, the school computer system messed up or something, that's all my homeroom tutor told us.'

'Okay.' He narrowed his eyes, looking suspicious. 'Well, I suppose you have to get ready for tonight?'

'Um, yeah… I don't think the school would be too happy to have the glee club perform without a member.'

'No, they wouldn't. Go on then.' He nodded, going back into the lounge. Phew. That was close. When I got in my room, I pulled out my notebook from my bag, noticing a random bit of paper flutter down to the ground. Meh, that can stay there, it won't harm anyone.

'Lauren, your mother wants you to have something to eat before you go.' Dad came into my room.

'Okay, thanks Dad. I'll go do that.' I forced a smile, standing up to go downstairs as he picked up the piece of paper off the floor.

'Lauren… Stop where you are.' Oh god that didn't sound good. 'What's this?' He held it up. No… that's not any bit of paper… shit. 'It looks like a report card… You lied to me? HOW COULD YOU!' He shouted, and I winced, just as he grabbed my arm and basically threw me onto the bed.

'No!' I went to reach for the report card as he looked at the grades.

'What the hell is this?!' His eyes nearly popped out and his face got all red.

'Dad, I passed them all…well apart from one...'

'That's not good enough.' He shook his head. 'You got a C AND a D? You know I expect B's or above.'

'I got an A?'

'ENOUGH! Enough with all these excuses.' He got in my face. 'You're grounded.'

'But Dad, prom…'

'I DON'T CARE! You got bad grades and could have dealt with that, but then you lied to me about it? You don't DESERVE to go to prom!' He shook his head, turning round and walking out, slamming the door behind him. I felt myself shaking, he's never shouted in my face like that, not that close.

About five minutes later, while I was still getting over what happened with my dad. Well, not getting over it, I was just sort of sniffling and sitting on my bed, still shaking.

'Hey Laur, is everything okay?' Blaine came in, closing the door behind him. 'Mom showed me your report card… What happened?'

'I got grounded.' I whispered, snuggling into his side when he sat next to me.

'That's not all… I can see you're upset.' He wrapped his arms around me, and I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I started crying. 'What happened, Lauren?'

'He… he got in my face, like an inch away, and started screaming… It was scary and I didn't like it.'

'That does sound scary.' He nodded sympathetically, frowning.

'I can't go to prom.' I scowled.

'We'll sort it out, don't worry.' He looked thoughtful, tightening his hug.

Quinn's POV

My phone buzzed as I got into the car, so I grabbed it out of my clutch before I drove away from home.

'_Wait round the corner, I'll explain more when I meet you xx' _Okay, Lauren is being weird…

'_Sure L, see you soon xx'_ I threw my phone in the cup holder, before turning the engine and driving down the road. I waited for a couple of minutes, smiling when I saw Lauren running round the corner, practically diving into the car.

'Drive.' She ordered sharply.

'Okaaaay.' I quickly started our journey to school. 'What's up?'

'I got grounded for a couple of my grades.' She shrugged, looking away when I glanced at her.

'So… you sneaked out?'

'Yup. Blaine's covering for me.'

'How'd you get out?'

'I climbed out my window…'

'WHAT? You climbed out your window? How is your hair and make-up so flawless? And there's not a crease in your dress.'

'It's not the first time.' She smirked nonchalantly.

'I don't wanna know.' I shook my head. 'Anyway are you ready to perform in front of the Seniors?'

'Yeah! It's gonna be awesome.' She grinned.

'Hey guys!' We walked over to San, Britt, and Lex, putting our stuff on the table.

'Heeeeey!' San waved over at us.

'Hi Q!' Lexie stood up, hugging me tightly. 'Hi Laur!' She done the same to her.

'You look pretty Lex! I love that pink dress!'

'Thanks Quinnie.' She giggled. 'I like Lauren's blue dress, it looks really good.'

'Aw thank you Babybel!' Lauren winked at her. 'Wow, look at you wearing heels! That's very grown up!'

'They hurt though.' She pouted, leaning into my side.

'Anyway, we better be getting ready for our performance, let's go Lexie.' Lauren grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the stage.

Santana's POV

I watched as Lauren and Lexie walked off, trying not to laugh when Lexie stumbled in her heels; luckily Lauren was able to catch her.

'Hey do you want a drink San?' Quinn asked, standing up.

'Um, yes please Q.' I smiled, standing up myself so I could see the performance, just as Britt went up to announce them.

'Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying your prom! Our next song will be sung by Lauren Anderson and Lexie Goodson, give them lots of love!' As she jumped off, they walked up to the mic stands in the middle of the stage, giving each other a last reassuring hug before the music started. Bless them, they always get nervous before singing, but they're so good, especially when they duet. By the chorus, they were really into the song, everyone in the gym also loving the performance.

_It started with a whisper  
>And that was when I kissed her<br>And then she made my lips hurt  
>I can't even chitchat<br>Take me to your love shack  
>Mamas always gotta backtrack<br>When everybody talks back_

They sang perfectly, and it was awesome. They are the best duet performers.

After they finished, they walked back over, Lexie pouting deeply.

'Sweetie, what's wrong?' I asked as Lex sat on my lap.

'My feet huuuurt.' She whined, quickly kicking her heels off.

'Do you want your flats? I put them in my locker.'

'Uh huh.' She nodded, putting her head on my shoulder and looking up at me cutely.

'Okay.' I moved her to sit on the chair next to me. 'Stay here with Lauren and Q, and I'll go grab them.'

'Noooo I wanna come!'

'Lexie, I don't want you walking round school barefoot.'

'Pleeease Tana…'

'Hey.' Brittany kneeled down in front of her. 'Why do you want to go so much?'

'I wanna stay with Tana. Or you.'

'How about I carry you to Tana's locker? Then you can stay with both of us; that okay?'

'Uh huh.' She held her arms up expectantly, and Brittany happily picked her up and put her on her hip. I rolled my eyes, grabbing Lex's heels and leading them out of the room and down the corridor.

Lexie's POV

Brittany held my hand as we walked back over to the table, sitting me down.

'I gotta go do my performance, stay here so I know where you are, okay? It's easy for a little cutie like you to get lost in all these Seniors.' She winked at me.

'Kaaaay.' I grinned as Lauren came and placed her drink on the table, Brittany going off to sing.

'Hey Babybel! Are you having a good evening?'

'Yup! It's so much fun!' I giggled. 'Are you?'

'Yeah I am! It's so awesome to go to a Senior prom as a Sophomore, it feels like I'm gate crashing.' She laughed. 'Anyway, I'm going to dance, are you coming?'

'Nuh uh, I'm happy sitting here.'

'Sure Babybel?' I nodded, biting my lip. Dancing is awkward. 'Okay, I'll come back once I'm done.' She grinned, before running over to Sofia.

'Babybel? What kind of nickname is that?' Kitty appeared from behind me. 'Actually it pretty suits you… _Baby_bel.' She snorted.

'Go away Kitty.'

'No I'm good.' She smirked, crossing her arms. 'I see you've changed your shoes. Yeah, I used to have to do that when I was like 10. But I'm all grown up now, unlike _some _of us.'

'Leave me aloooone.' I whined.

'Aw, can baby Wexie not take it? I'm going to do some big girl stuff with my big girl friends, will you be okay here? Or shall I get you a babysitter?' She laughed at her own stupid joke, and then walked off. Humph it's not fair, why is she always like this?

Lauren's POV

I was happily dancing with Sofia and some of the older Cheerios, laughing at something one of them said. As I laughed, I glanced back over at the table, doing a double take when I realized that Lexie wasn't there… Frowning, I looked around, relieved and confused when I saw bright pink converse peeking out from underneath the table cloth.

'Um, I'm going to get my drink.' I gave my lame ass excuse to Sofia, nodding at the others before walking over to the table; lifting up the cloth, I raised my eyebrow at Lex when she looked up at me. 'Hey Babybel, what's wrong?' I held her hand, helping her up.

'I felt like being alone.' She whispered… there's something she's not telling me.

'Hey, you can tell me anything, you know that?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded, looking away; as I narrowed my eyes, the music changed, telling everyone that it's time to slow dance. I turned round, noticing Sofia with Rory, Santana and Britt, and all the other couples forming

'Come on, let's dance.' I smiled, leading her to the dance floor.

'Thanks Laur.' She grinned as we got close and started moving.

I walked into the gym next to Sofia, with the rest of my home room. Waving at Lex across the room, I laughed when she rubbed her eyes; according to Kurt, she's still tired from Friday night.  
>'Thank you, Sophomores and Freshmen, for coming to this assembly.' Principal Figgins started from the stage. Assembly? There's literally four home rooms here for goodness sake... 'Sophomores: your social studies teacher and I have decided on a special assignment for you to complete. Each of you will pair up with a freshman, and will have the task of looking after them for this week, going towards extra credit for this class. Your teachers have all been informed of this, and will complete a report, deciding how much credit you will receive.'<br>'_You're mine_.' I text Lexie, watching as she looked at her phone, looking up at me with an excited expression.  
>'<em>Thanks Laureeeen!<em>' She replied, making me laugh.  
>'I want you all to go onto the gym floor.' He continued. 'And then pair up, one freshman and one sophomore, and then sit down again. Half of all pairs on one side of the gym, and the rest on the other side. Go!' I quickly walked down the steps, wrapping my arms around Lex as she ran up to me.<br>'I'm really excited for this project Laur!' She whispered as we went to sit down again, smiling widely.  
>'Me too!' I winked at her.<p>

'Well done.' Figgins said when everyone was sat down. 'During this assignment, I expect the older pupils to look after and protect the younger ones, almost as if you are their older siblings.' I smirked, rolling my eyes when the whole of my year groaned. 'This half of the group.' He pointed in our direction. 'Will follow the Freshman's timetable together today and Friday morning, and the other half the Sophomore's. Tomorrow, there will be a sports day with different team and couple games, on Wednesday there will be an art day in here, and on Thursday you will be visiting a local museum.'  
>'Sports day tomorrow.' I nodded, trying to work through the instructions. 'What lesson have you got now, kiddo?' I looked at Lex.<br>'Uhhh math.' She wrinkled her nose.  
>'Okay.' I smiled as we were dismissed, being told to wear our gym kits tomorrow. 'Let's go do your lessons, then.'<br>'Hey girls.' Mr Schue came up to us. 'I thought you two would get together! Lauren, I know I won't see you until later, but I'm already planning on giving you a good report in my class, I know how good you are with Lex.'  
>'Thanks Mr S! We better be going, I don't wanna make Lex late to math. See you later!' I grinned, putting my arm round Lex's shoulders as we walked to class.<p>

Later that day, we walked into glee, sitting next to each other in the back of the room. As we started talking about stuff, some of the others walked in, Kitty stomping in 5 minutes after we sat down.

'What's wrong with you?'

'This is dumb. This whole Freshman and Sophomore thing. It's stupid. I don't need to be looked after. The only person who needs a fucking child minder here is Lexie.'

'Heeey!' Lexie whined, scowling.

'Ignore her Babybel.' I whispered. 'She's not worth it, and you're not a baby.'

'Thanks Lauren.' She smiled, snuggling into my side. 'I hope you get lots and lots of extra credit because you're making a good big sister.' She giggled.

'Aw thanks kid, it helps that you're a good little sister.' I winked at her as Mr Schue came into the room, getting us to start our Nationals rehearsal.

'Hey Lex.' I grinned as she got into the back of Q's car the next morning.

'Hiiiiii! I'm excited about today. What do you think we'll be doing?' She asked quickly.

'Whoa, slow down kiddo. I'm excited too… I don't know exactly what we're doing, but it's definitely sports? I don't know.'

'Hey Lexie, what about me? You can't just ignore me.' Quinn smirked at me, laughing when Lexie's face dropped.

'I'm sorry Quinnie I didn't mean to! Heeeey!'

'Lex, Q was only teasing you.' I chuckled when she looked insulted, pouting.

I threw the dodge ball over the line, making sure I wasn't aiming for Lexie. I don't think it's fair that we were split up, isn't this week meant to be about us working together? Dumb Figgins. I high fived one of my teammates when my ball hit the leg of one of the Freshmen, meaning they were out of the game. As I went to grab the ball that rolled past me, I saw Lexie get hit from the corner of my eye. As she stumbled slightly, a second ball hit her from the side, and she fell over. Oh my gosh. I ran over to her, making sure she was okay.

'Lexie?'

'That huuuurt.' Her lip quivered, and she burst into tears.

'Okay darling, come on, let's go sit on the bleachers.' I helped her stand up, putting my arm round her and walking to the side with her. Turning my head, I glared at the girl who hurt her; I can't believe one of Lexie's own teammates would aim at her! I'm glad it wasn't Kitty though, I would be seriously close to hitting her, and I don't need to be in anymore trouble. 'Hey Lex, how you feeling?'

'Okay.' She shrugged. 'Can I cuddle up with you?' She asked shyly, looking down.

'Sure you can Babybel!' She leaned up to me, resting her head on my shoulder as I put my arms around her.

We walked back in after recess, Lexie frowning at me when we realized there were random nets up all over the place.

'I have no idea.' I shrugged, going to sit down and wait for the teacher to tell us what was happening; luckily, Coach Sylvester came in right then.

'You underdogs are now going to waste your government paid for educational time playing tennis. Hitting a bright yellow ball to one another with rackets. How fun.' She stalked off, leaving us kinda confused. Lexie pointed at a nearby box, running over to grab what we needed.

'Found them!' She giggled, skipping back to me and giving me the stuff, keeping a racket for herself.

'I guess I'll serve then.' I shook my head, watching her running to the other side of the nearest net, and eagerly waiting for me to start. 'Have you played tennis before, Babybel?'

'Yeah Daddy and me played when I was younger.' She shrugged, looking away for a second before looking back at me with a shy smile.

'Okay then.' I gave her a reassuring wink, lifting my arm and serving the ball; she hit it back, and we quickly got into a volley. 'Ahh, you're good kiddo.'

I held the ball in my hand, smirking to myself before hitting it and sending it flying over Lexie's head.

'Too high Lauren!' She attempted to scold me.

'Sorry Lexie.' I chuckled. I purposely sent it over her head again, teasing her.

'Heeeeey!' She pouted, and I tried not to laugh as the ball hit the opposite wall, bouncing off and quickly rolling under the net to me. 'Hey that's not fair it's mine!'

'Ah sorry Lex, you can't help physics.' I shrugged, serving the ball to be high again.

'Laureeeeen.' She stomped her foot. 'You're mean! Don't be so mean.' She sat on the floor, crossing her arms to sulk. I rolled my eyes, ducking under the tennis net to go sit next to her.

'Come on Alex, there's no point being mad at me.'

'You were mean.' She scowled.

'Okay, look. If I promise not to be mean again, would you agree to carry on playing?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded.

'Okay. I promise not to be mean to you in this game.' I said sincerely, and she quickly jumped up.

'Kay let's go! Can we swap sides?'

'Yeah, sure.' I smiled, watching her excitedly get ready to play again.

The next day, we walked into the gym to find the art teachers waiting for all of us. Sitting on one of the benches, we waited for the instructions of what we're doing today.

'Right! This morning, you will be split into two groups. Group A will start off drawing your partners, and Group B will be painting something that you thing describes your partner.' The teacher said loudly. This doesn't sound so bad.

'This side will be A, and the others will be B.' The other teacher assigned us to group A, and then pointed us to the piles of paper, pens and pencils that were on one side of the gym, whereas the others went to the other side, towards the massive plastic sheet that was covered in paper and paints.

'I wanna draw you first, can I draw you first?' Lexie pleaded as we sat down.

'What's the magic word Babybel?'

'Pleeeease?'

'Sure you can.' I winked at her. 'How's this?' I said getting into a stupid pose as she picked up the paper and a pencil.

'Nooooo, a nice poseeeee!' She giggled.

'Okay, okay' I sat on the floor smiling.

'Finished!' She said proudly.

'Well let me see it!'

'Nooooo you do yours fiiiiirst…' She whined.

'Okay, okay! Calm down babes.' I rolled my eyes.

'Here.' She shoved some paper and her pencil in my hands, getting comfortable and smiling at me.

'Hey why don't I take a photo of you on my phone? I'll draw from that.'

'Uhhh… Okay.' She shrugged, carrying on smiling while I took the picture. 'I'm going to color my drawing of you then!'

'Good plan Lex!' I grinned, watching as she laid on her front and put on her concentration face; I subtly discarded my phone, deciding to draw this instead. This is way cuter.

As I finished shading my work, deciding that it'll look better than coloring it, Lex finished her coloring in.

'Have you done yet Lauren?' She sat up.

'Yup, you?'

'Uh huh, can I show you now?' She asked, excitement flickering in her eyes.

'Go ahead, Babybel.' She smiled, silently handing it over to me. 'Awww Lex, this is great!' It's not the greatest drawing, but it was _adorable, _and I could see she had worked stupidly hard on it. 'I'm going to put it on the corkboard in my room, is that okay?'

'Really?' Her eyes widened, and I was _sure _she was going to burst into happy tears when I nodded.

'Here's my drawing.' I slid it over to her.

'Wait, you didn't draw from the photo! I don't care, this is so cool! Well done Lauren! You should be an artist, because this is the best thing ever.'

'I don't think my dad would be too happy with me if I did that, but thank you anyway.' I smirked, my face dropping when I saw how upset Lexie looked. 'Hey.' I put the drawings down. 'What's wrong, sweetie?'

'Your dad's mean.' She whispered. 'He scares me and I don't want you and Blaine to be hurt, because you are both awesome and really nice.'

'C'mere.' Held my arms out, letting her crawl onto my lap. 'I'm sorry you feel that way about my dad, but there's nothing we can do about it. He's always going to be mean.'

'Lauren? Can you make me a promise?' She started playing with my charm bracelet.

'Depends what it is, Babybel?'

'Go to college far away. Go to California or something, and stay there. I want you to be close, but I want you to stay safe more. Only come back for visits.'

'I can't promise that, but I'll try my absolute best, okay? But only if you come see me sometimes.'

'Duh!' Her face brightened up slightly, and she smiled softly at me.

'Helllllo?' Lexie answered her phone that evening, sounding sleepy.

'Hey Lex, did I wake you up?' I looked at the clock 9pm: not late, but late enough for her. Damn, why did I decide to call this late? Lexie needs her sleep. Oh well, too late now.

'Nuh uh, I'm just about to go to sleep though.'

'Ah, sorry about that. How are you feeling now?' She'd been subdued ever since we talked about my dad, it was kinda worrying.

'Well…' She hesitated. 'Has anything happened since school?'

'Nope, everything's been okay.'

'Well then I feel better.'

'Good, Babybel. I'm glad.' I chuckled. 'Anyway, I better let you sleep then, we've got a busy day tomorrow!'

'We have, I can't wait to go round the museum with you Lauren.'

'Ah, me neither!'

'I'm sleepy. Night night Lauren.' She whispered.

'Goodnight Lexie, I hope you have good dreams.' I listened until the phone went dead, sighing. I hope she kinda forgets about my dad, I don't want her worrying about it, it's making her act different.

I gasped when I felt someone slam into me from behind while waiting by the school buses, smiling when I instantly realized who it was when they squeezed me tightly.

'Hey Lexie!'

'Lauren!' She jumped into my arms, and I happily held her for a few seconds before letting her slide down; I'm not as strong as Britt or San, and besides, it's their thing to hold her, not mine.

'How are ya, Lex?'

'I'm awesome!' She giggled. 'Lauren, do you think we'll be allowed to go on our own round the museum? Just me and you?'

'I hope so! Why?'

'I wanna…' She lowered her voice so only I could hear her. 'I wanna go to the children bit of it.'

'Well if we're allowed to separate, then we'll definitely go there, and hopefully waste our day in there.'

'Yaaaay! Thanks Lauren! You're the best!' She threw her arms around me again, smiling widely. I was gonna take her there anyway, she'll love it there.

'Lexie, stop walking past rooms.' I rolled my eyes. 'There's things in every room, and if you keep walking past them, then you'll miss things!'

'Sorry Lauren.' She pouted, slouching her shoulders and shuffling past me.

'You're not in trouble, Babybel, I barely even told you off. I just don't want you to miss anything, it's awesome here.'

'Oh. Cool.' She giggled, looking around. 'What's in here?'

'Why don't we look around?' I took her to the table closest to the door so we could make our way round the room; there was the introduction to the room on there. 'Read it out Lex.'

'Kay. "In here, you will find different methods of writing and printing text, from what the children in British Victorian schoolrooms would use, to the printing press". What's a printing press Lauren?'

'Um…' I lead her to the display. 'It's a way of printing ink from a stamp to a piece of material, it was the first method of its kind.'

'That's pretty cool! Look! They have a mini one to try, can I try it pleeease?'

'Go ahead Lex, I'm not stopping you.' I smiled when she slowly read the instructions, following them properly to make sure she done it right.

'I'm gonna make my name.' She mostly mumbled. When she had firmly pressed the thing down, she slowly lifted it again, pulling the small piece of cotton from it, with her name neatly imprinted onto it with the ink. 'Lauren look I did it!'

'Wow Lex, well done! I'm so proud of you!' She grinned at the praise, shoving the stuff in my hand before moving on.

I followed her, seeing that she was heading to the feather quills.

'The Declaration of Independence was written one of these, how epic is that?'

'That _is _pretty epic.' I nodded. 'How about you try writing your name with this, and then everything in this room, and you can take the bits of paper and stuff home to show San, Britt, Finn and Kurt? I'm sure Blaine would like to see them too.'

'But not all of them are on paper.' She pointed to the little chalkboard from the Victorian side of the room.

'Well then I'll take a pic of you holding it. Happy?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded, sitting down and putting a piece of paper in front of her, before picking up a quill and dipping it in the ink.

'Be careful Lex, you don't want to get that stuff all over you.' I warned when she went slightly too quickly.

'Kaaay.' She slowed down, making sure she tried her best at the task.

'Hey guys! You're back from your field trip!' Mr Schue greeted us when we arrived like half an hour late for glee.

'How was it?' Santana walked over, breaking the formation of the group.

'It was really fun Tana!' Lexie grinned.

'We stayed in the children's discovery center all day.' I said quietly, just to Santana, and she nodded in understanding.

'Was it good to spend a day with Lauren?'

'Yeah! She let me try everything, and I have a collection of different ways I wrote my name, like with a printing press and a typewriter, it was awesome! Hey, did you know that the Declaration of Independence was written with a quill? It was really hard to write with!'

'That's a neat fact!' Santana nodded, going along with everything she was saying. 'Once rehearsal is finished, we'll go through what you done, okay?'

'Kay, thanks Tana!' She smiled at me as we put our stuff down, before unquestioningly going to our places in the group arrangement.

I met Lexie outside school the next morning, walking to her locker with her.

'I can't believe this is the last day of the assignment, Lauren! I'm really enjoying it!' She pouted.

'I'm sure you're enjoying having a few days off the timetable.' I laughed.

'Nuh uh! It's nice to have someone to talk to in class.'

'Aw, it has been good to be with you this week! Oh, I have some news.'

'Ooh what?' She looked at me excitedly.

'So, if the Warblers don't get into Nationals, they have a tradition where they send two members to see it to support their fellow Ohioan show choir groups. Well, because Kurt and Blaine are coming anyway, for you, me, and Finn, they didn't request to go. But Riker and Max did. Aaaand, they got it because Riker's my boyfriend, and we're all, including you, friends with Max. Riker's going to drive them all down just after we leave on Sunday afternoon.'

'Oh. My. Gosh. That is AWESOME!' I can't wait to go to Chicago, it's gonna be epic.

I walked back to the home economics class after going to the bathroom, frowning when I saw Lexie standing out the room, looking both guilty and sulky.

'Lex, what happened?'

'Nothing.' She scowled, not meeting my eyes with her own.

'Alex. Tell me what happened.' I sighed when she shook her head, still not looking at me. 'Fine.' I strolled into the room, going straight up to the teacher. 'What happened with Lexie?'

'She told me that she thought making cupcakes is "dumb", and then when I tried to convince her otherwise, she decided to get angry and knock her ingredients to the floor.' She explained; sure enough, when I turned around, right by our station, on the floor, was a load of flour and sugar. And just to finish things off, a couple of cracked eggs.

'Okay. Well this is the class before recess, so I'll bring her back to clean that all up.'

'Where will you be for the rest of the period?'

'I'll take her to the choir room.' I leant over so none of the other students heard me. 'I'll be giving her a nice lecture and a time out.'

'Oh.' She smirked knowingly. 'Okay. I'll see you at recess then.'

'Will do, thank you.' I smiled, picking up all our things and going back outside. 'Follow me.'

'Where are we goiiiing?' She whined, dragging her feet as we started to walk.

'Don't ask, just walk. Properly, if possible.' Man I like this control…

'Wow, Alex.' I had her sit down in the middle seat at the front as I paced in front of her. 'You're known for your tantrums, and throwing things round. But in school? And making a huge mess while you're at it? There is… _stuff _all over the floor now, because you decided that it'll be a good time to act like a toddler. It's cute and all when we're with San outside school, but not in school.'

'I wasn't thinking.' She whispered.

'Well _that_ was evident. Not only that, but it is incredibly, incredibly rude to tell a teacher that their activity is "dumb", or any other word like that.'

'Am I in trouble?'

'Yeah, you are. There's about half the class left, so for 15 minutes, you're going to have a time out in the corner.'

'But that's not-'

'Don't start. Would you be mad and argue back if Santana were the one doing this?'

'No?' She bit her lip.

'So why are you doing it with me? Anyway, after that, I've decided that you're going to write an apology letter to your teacher, and then we're going to clean up the mess that you made. Do you understand, Babybel?'

'Uh huh. Shall I… uh… go?' She awkwardly glanced at the empty corner, and I nodded before going to sit and time the punishment.

After we finished cleaning the floor, we were allowed to leave school for a while, as long as we got back for an assembly in the last period.

'Let's go find Q, see if we can borrow her car for the afternoon.' I smiled at Lexie as we walked down the corridor.

'Lauren?' She whispered, tears building in her eyes as I looked at her.

'What's wrong Babybel?'

'Hold hands with me?' She asked shyly.

'Of course I will!' I've realized that she's really clingy every time she gets told off. Like, whenever San gives her a timeout, Lexie won't leave her side for like half an hour; it's not surprising that she wants me to hold her hand while we're walking round school.

'Lauren, can we go to the mall and hang out?' She said quietly.

'That's an awesome idea! Maybe we'll go to the Bean after?'

'Uh huh, can I have cocoa?'

'Sure.' I winked at her, smiling at Quinn as we got to her locker.

'Come on Lex, run!' I grabbed her hand, and we sprinted to the auditorium.

'Laureeeeen.' She whined, gasping for breath.

'Don't worry Alex, we're nearly there.' I reassured her, and sure enough, we were there within a second.

'I hate running.' She huffed, glaring at me.

'Sorry Lex, but you're the one that decided to sulk when you didn't wanna leave the Bean, making us late.'

'Oh. Sorry, I guess.' She shrugged, and I rolled my eyes.

'That's okay Babybel.' I teasingly tugged on one of her pigtails, winking at her scowl. 'Let's sit down.' We walked in, realizing that we weren't _that_ late, and half of the couples weren't even there yet. Thank goodness. 'Where do you wanna sit?' I raised my eyebrow when she shrugged. 'Near the front?'

'Uh huh.' She whispered, and we made our way to the first seats by the stage.

Five minutes after the rest of the Freshmen and Sophomores had arrived, Principal Figgins finally walked on stage, up to the mic stand.

'Hello, students. As we finish this week, I would like to say thank you and well done. You have all taken part in this assignment with enthusiasm and dignity, and we have decided that we will be doing a similar week next year with the new Freshmen.'

'This is boring.' Lexie whispered, scowling.

'Shh.' I patted her leg, raising my eyebrow at her.

'We have also chosen to give an award to any Sophomore who has particularly stood out while looking after their Freshman. After talking to all your teachers, there is only one clear winner of this award: Lauren Anderson.' Wait what? Me? Whoa… 'Can Lauren and Lexie please come up onto the stage?' I stood up, grabbing Lexie's hand and walking with her up the steps. 'You have gained by far the most extra credit in your year, meaning that you have gone from a D to a B in social studies.'

'Nice!' I grinned, high fiving Lexie when she smiled cutely up at me.

'As a reward, here is a gift certificate for you and Lexie to go to BreadstiX together.'

'Great, thanks!' I happily took it, winking at Lexie before we were ushered off stage. Why am I not surprised we won? We were totally the best couple.

Santana's POV

I parked my car at the school, helping Britt get her luggage out of the back of my car.

'Sanny, I'm so happy that we get to stay in one room together!'

'Me too! It's a shame we've got a four and a half bus journey to endure to get to it.' I pulled a face, smiling as we turned the corner to see most of the glee club already there.

'Tana!' Lexie ran up to me. She's acting like we haven't seen each other in months.

'Hey kiddo!' I grinned, picking her up. 'Are you all ready to go to Chicago?'

'Uh huh! I'm really excited! I get to share a room with Lauren.'

'Ah, Mr Schue gave you the twin bedroom, ey?'

'Yeah, he said he was impressed with our teamwork last week.' Lauren walked up to us.

'That was pretty remarkable teamwork.' I laughed, side hugging her while Lexie was still on my left hip.

'Guys, we're waiting for you. Please get on the bus.' Mr Schue called from the door; looking around, we noticed that literally everyone had gone on, including Britt. When did she leave us? Damn.

'Coming!' I called back, putting Lex on her feet so we could walk over.

'Lex, are we sitting together?' Lauren looked at her kindly, holding out her hand.

'Uh huh! Thanks!' Lexie quickly slipped her hand into the one being offered to her, smiling widely as we walked up the steps of the bus.

'Sit behind us, guys.' I pointed at mine and Britt's seat, sitting down next to my girlfriend. As soon as we were settled, the bus started, and we began our journey to nationals.


	19. Chapter 19

Lauren's POV

'Um, Mr Schue?' I walked up to him in the hotel lobby, with Lexie next to me.

'Yes Lauren?' He smiled at us.

'Uh, I was wondering if my brother and the others can tag along with us today, you know, sightseeing?'

'Yeah, I don't see why not!' He nodded.

'Can we go tell them?' Lexie looked up at me.

'No, it's okay babes, I'll just phone Ri.' I winked at her, holding my cell up for her to see.

'Fiiiiine.' She shrugged, her eyes lighting up when Santana came out of the elevator, running over to her.

Me and Riker walked through to the next gallery, catching up with everyone.

'I love looking at art, it's so awesome. And like… beautiful.' Riker said quietly.

'Hmm, me too! It's amazing what some people can create.' I nodded.

'It's unbelievable.' He suddenly pulled me backwards, both of us dodging Max as he stumbled in front of us after Lexie pushed him.

'Alex!' Santana pulled on her arm, turning her around. 'Stop mucking around!'

'But I'm borrrreeeedddd.' She whined. 'Art's boring.'

'Look, Alex, Mr Schue said we're going to a kids' museum soon, which will be more fun. So stop causing trouble, or I'll take you back to the hotel and you can have a nap instead.'

'But Tanaaaaaaa…'

'No, Alex. Just… stop being silly, do you understand me?'

'Yes Tana.' She nodded, looking down. I smirked at Riker when Max looked at us, obviously finding the situation awkward but funny.

'Don't look at me like that, I'm sure you weren't helping.' Riker shook his head; I laughed, gently squeezing his bicep.

Santana's POV

I was leaning on the rail that went around the balcony in the museum, watching Lexie play around with the water experiments with Lauren, Riker, and that Max kid.

'She is so adorable.' Rachel walked up to me.

'Yeah she is.' I grinned. 'When she's not causing trouble, at least. Wait, Hobbit, I swear two months ago you didn't like her?'

'I didn't much, but I've got to know her and… she's not bad.' She laughed when I playfully elbowed her. 'What about you?'

'What about me?' I frowned.

'Why do you love her so much?' She asked kindly.

'I don't know. I guess, back when she was mass slushied that one time, she seemed so young and vulnerable… I don't know, I just wanted to look after her.'

'You do such a great job.'

'Aw, thanks Rach. I kinda have to, I mean no offence, but Finn doesn't do much.' I smiled when she laughed loudly, nodding in agreement.

'LEXIIIIEEEE!' I looked at Lauren, chuckling when I noticed she was soaking wet.

'Go get her Lex!' I called down, smirking at the confused look she gave me.

'I'm not in trouble?'

'Of course not, silly!' I laughed. 'Get her for me too, honey!'

'Kaaaay!' She giggled, immediately doing as I said.

'Thanks San.' Lauren glared up at me, making me chuckle.

Lauren's POV

'You okay?' Riker asked me, looking kinda amused.

'Hmm…' I nodded, glancing at one of the experiments next to me, smirking when I saw a plastic cup; I put it under the water, quickly throwing it in Lexie's direction. 'Gotcha!'

'Laureeeeeen.' She scowled slightly. 'Ugh.' She picked up her own cup, aiming it at Riker.

'Hey Lex!' He looked mildly offended for a second, deciding to join in. 'Guys.' He called us both to him. 'Let's get Max.' He whispered, subtly nodding to show that Max was walking towards us.

'Hey gu- AHH!' He cried when the water hit him.

'Ha you're wet.' Lexie laughed.

'So are you, dork.' He smirked at her. 'So… water fight?' He raised his eyebrow at us, grabbing a pot.

'WATER FIIIIIGHT!' Lex shouted, filling her cup.

I laughed as Max threw some water at Lexie, watching as she filled up her cup and turned around to throw it as he ran away.

'NO! Lex-' Too late. Lexie threw her water in the wrong direction, and it landed on some randomer. Goddammit. I ran to her side, sighing when I realized that she was just staring at the woman, who looked totally mad. 'I… uh… we're SO sor-'

'Who does this hooligan belong to?' She grabbed Lexie's arm, holding it up.

'Hey let me go!' Lex tried to squirm out of her grasp, to no avail.

'Put her down.' We heard Santana's cutting voice from behind her, causing the woman to drop her arm, Lexie running into my arms.

'Look what she done to me!' The woman shouted loudly.

'Yes, and it was an accident.' Mr Schue appeared from nowhere. 'We apologize for any inconvenience caused to you, and my student here will be disciplined appropriately.'

'How can you guarantee that?'

'You'll have to believe us.' Santana glared at the woman, turning to Mr Schue. 'I'm taking her back to the hotel, we can walk right?'

'Yeah, it's just a couple blocks away.'

'Right.' She nodded, stalking up to us. 'Come on Alex.'

'But-but Tana…'

'Alexandra,' She got down to her level. 'You are in BIG trouble right now, so if I were you, I wouldn't push this any further. It's your choice young lady.'

'Kay.' Lex whimpered, letting San take her hand. 'Um, sorry about getting you wet. I thought my friend was behind me.' She looked at the woman, looking partly relieved when she coldly nodded.

'I better go get dried off.' We stopped outside my room.

'Yeah, me too.' Riker laughed. 'Where shall we meet?'

'Uuuum, we might as well meet at the hotel restaurant downstairs.' I shrugged.

'Ah, okay!' He smiled. 'See you at 5, with the others, then.'

'Will do.' I leant up, kissing him deeply before using my key card to get in the room. 'Lex, are you here?' I looked up to see her standing with her nose in the corner. Ha. 'Aw Lexie-boo, are you in trouble?' I teased her slightly, smirking when she turned around and stuck her tongue out at me.

'Alex!' Santana walked out of the bathroom, shaking her head. 'What are you doing?'

'Tana…'

'No, face the corner. I think you need an early night tonight. You're going straight to bed after dinner.'

'Noooo please don't make me!' Lex whined.

'Too late, now finish your timeout before I make it longer. And you.' She turned to me. 'Don't think I didn't hear you tease her. You're lucky you're not standing in the other corner right now.'

'Sorry Ta- Santana.' My eyes widened, I can't believe I nearly called her that! Wow.

'Okay. You better get changed.' She frowned at my wet shirt, sitting on Lex's bed as I nodded.

Santana's POV

I held Lex on my lap, letting her lay her head on my shoulder as I talked to her until she got a little bit sleepy.

'Okay, time to lay down now honey.'

'Kay.' She whispered, crawling off of me and under the covers. 'Do I have to sleep this early Tana?'

'Yeah you do Lex. I think you need it, and besides, you're ready to sleep now, aren't you?' I smiled as I tucked her in with her teddy.

'I guess. What if I can't sleep?'

'Well then you lay here in silence until you do. Your phone's on the bedside table if you need to call me.'

'What about Britt-Britt or Quinnie or Lauren?'

'Them too, but they'll tell me and I'll come up.' I winked at her. 'Now, it's time to sleep.'

'Kay, night night Tana.'

'Goodnight Princesa.' I kissed her forehead, turning on the bathroom light before leaving the room.

'Right, is everyone ready for some practice?' Mr Schue stood in front of the group in the room he had booked for us this week. 'Wait, where's Lexie?'

'In bed. She needed it.' I shrugged, crossing my arms and hoping my body language would stop him from asking any questions.

'Okaaay then.' He looked a little confused, but nodded. 'Places, everybody!'

Lauren's POV

'Come on Lauren, stay strong!' Mr Schue called as I stumbled a little.

'You can do it Laur.' Quinn grinned at me, grabbing and squeezing my hand reassuringly.

'Thanks Q.' I smiled softly, pausing when I saw movement out the corner of my eye. 'San.' I poked her arm, nodding in the direction of her door.

'Goddammit.' She shook her head, walking out and making the whole group stop our practice. 'Alex?'

'Tanaaaa, I couldn't sleep.' She pouted adorably.

'I told you to stay in bed, honey! Come on.' She picked Lex up, putting her on her hip before turning to us. 'I'll be back down soon.' She turned back around, walking down the hotel corridor with Lex in her arms still.

I walked into the room, ready to collapse until my alarm goes off. I chuckled when I realized Santana was still in there, sorta half-spooning Lexie as she slept.

'Hey.' She grinned at me, cracking her neck.

'Whatcha still doing here San?' I helped her stand up.

'Oh, Lex fell asleep about two hours ago, and every time I tried to get up she would stir a little. I didn't want to risk waking her.'

'Ah okay. Well, let me get changed, and then you can go. I'll be here if she wakes then.'

'Awesome, thanks Laur!' She kissed my cheek cutely.

My alarm went off at 8, and I groaned as I grabbed my phone to turn it off. Blurrily opening my eyes, I slowly sat up, glancing at the other bed to call Lex to get her up. It took me a few seconds, but I suddenly realized she wasn't there.

'Lexieee?' I called loudly, hoping she was on the floor or something and I just couldn't see her. I leaned forward to look in the bathroom, realizing she wasn't in there either. Shit. Santana's gonna go crazy if she thinks I lost her! Crap, I think I need to…

'Everything okay Lauren?' She answered after a few rings.

'Uh, yeah…' I paused. 'I think I lost Lexie.' I bit my lip nervously.

'Nah, you haven't.' She chuckled. 'She came to our room at about 5, wide awake, so Britt got her into our bed and somehow managed to get her back to sleep.'

'She's with you? Awesome.' I sighed in relief.

'I'll let you wake up, see you at breakfast?'

'Won't you come with Lex to get her clothes?'

'I put some of her clothes in my room just in case, so we'll just use them and she can wash and everything after breakfast.'

'Ohhhh okay, cool, see you then.' I smiled as I put my phone down again. Meh, I can get another ten minutes sleep if I don't have to make sure Lex is ready.

'Hey.' I giggled as soon as I saw Riker waiting outside my room.

'Hi.' He done this cute little half smile, bending down and kissing me deeply.

'Ew guys seriously, get a room.' Max walked past, wrinkling his nose.

'Shut up Max, why don't you get a girlfriend?' Riker bit back, winking at me. 'How was practice last night?'

'Eh, it wasn't bad.' I shrugged. 'It wasn't right though, because Lex wasn't there for any of it, and San left halfway through when Lex got up.'

'Aw that sucks. And how was your sleep?'

'Good.' I grinned as we got into the breakfast room.

'Lauren!' Lexie walked up to me, grabbing my hand and dragging me to a table with San, Britt, Kurt, and Blaine already sitting there. I sat in the seat next to Blaine and opposite Riker.

'Hey Blainers!' I wrapped my arms around him.

As we were finishing up breakfast, Mr Schuester came over, pulling up a chair from another table to talk to us.

'Hi Mr S!' Santana smiled at him. 'Lex, finish your toast.' She held up her hand when Lexie was about to argue. 'Just eat it please.'

'Kaaaaaay.' She pouted, picking up the slice that was lathered in chocolate spread.

'So, I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday…'

'What happened with that evil lady?' I asked.

'Yep.'

'I said I was sorry! I didn't mean tooooo…' Lexie whined, tears in her eyes.

'I know, but… there needs to be a school sanction. Coach Sue suggested that you shouldn't go to the show with us today.'

'But… but… but that's not fair!' She finally burst into tears, throwing herself into Brittany, who happily rubbed her back to calm her down.

'That does seem a bit harsh…' Santana frowned, comfortingly holding Lexie's hand.

'What do you suggest?'

'Well… you know we're going into downtown Chicago as a group tomorrow? Shopping or something? Maybe you can ground her from that.'

'That's a good idea. I'll go talk to the other teachers about it.' He nodded at the rest of us, before going wherever.

'Thanks Tana.' Lex sniffled.

'All ready, Lex?'

'Uh huh, can we go now?' She asked, straightening the skirt of her dress.

'Of course!' I held out my hand to her. 'Who are you sitting next to in the theatre, Babybel?'

'I don't knoooow.' She whined slightly. 'You and Tana. I'm gonna sit in between you.'

'Awesome! Well, in that case, I'm going to sit in between you and Riker.' I booped the end of her nose, causing her to giggle.

'Thanks Laurieeee.' She leaned into my side.

We sat down in the theatre, about five rows from the front.

'Oh my gosh, I can't wait for this! I've always wanted to see Wicked!' I grinned.

'Are you excited?' Riker asked with an amused smile.

'Hell yeah!' I laughed, settling properly in my seat. 'Are you excited, Babybel?' I asked Lex when she came back with Santana from buying drinks.

'Uh, kinda.' She shrugged, looking unsure. 'Laurieee, is it gonna be scary? It's about witches, right?'

'Yeah it is, but it's not going to be scary! If it is, you can hold my hand, okay?'

'Kay.' She nodded.

'Here you go, guys.' Santana reached over Lex, giving me and Ri a bottle of coke each, and then one to Lexie.

'Ah, thanks San!' Riker smiled, putting his arm round me as the lights dimmed and the curtains went up.

Whoa. I smiled as the lights went up for the interval, sighing happily. I looked over at Lexie, laughing when I noticed she was kneeling on her seat, bouncing excitedly.

'Are you enjoying it Lex?'

'Uh huh!' She grinned. 'It's so awesomeeee! What about you Lauren?'

'I agree, it's pretty epic so far!'

'Hey Lex, can I borrow you?' Finn turned around from his seat in front of us.

'Uh, sure Finn…' She stood up, meeting him at the end of the aisle before walking off with him.

'Are you enjoying the show, Rikey?' I looked up at him.

'Yeah I am, Beautiful.' He winked at me, kissing my cheek. 'It's amazing!'

'Lauren, Tana, Lauren, look what Finn got me!' Lexie shouted as she quickly made her way down the aisle, the other glee members obviously not happy with how loud she was being.

'Aleeex, what have I told you about your inside voice?' Santana raised her eyebrow.

'Sorry Tana.' Lex pouted.

'Anyway, what did you get?' I asked.

'I got a Wicked shirt!' She held up a black t-shirt.

'That's awesoooome! Lucky you!' I grinned, pulling her onto my lap to snuggle up as the second half started.

I walked out of the theatre holding hands with Riker as we followed everyone to the bus, with only Santana behind us carrying Lex.

'Had a good afternoon, Laur?' Ri asked me with a smile.

'Yes! Oh my god, I'm so happy that I've finally seen this show!'

'Aw awesome! I'm glad I get to experience it with you.' He smiled.

'I already want to see it again, maybe get the chance to grab some merch next time.' I sighed softly.

'Ah, no need for that.' He pulled a bag from behind his back.

'What, how long have you been hiding that?'

'Since I went to the bathroom during the break… I detoured to the merch desk.' He grinned, giving me the bag; reaching into it, I pulled out the same shirt as Lexie's, but obviously in my size.

'Awwww, thanks Ri!' I went on my tiptoes and kissed him deeply, holding the awesome shirt to my chest.

'Hey Blainers.' I quietly said while letting him into the room.

'Hi Laur.' He kissed my cheek, following me inside. 'She still asleep?' He glanced at Lex.

'Yeah, I was talking to San and we think there's no point waking her up if she's not going anywhere.' I shrugged.

'Fair point.'

'Are you sure you're okay to watch her?'

'Of course I am!' He smiled. 'I've got some work from Dalton to do, so it'll give me the chance to do that.'

'You really think you'll get a chance to do work? You know how much mischief she can cause…'

'I'll try get it over and done with before she wakes up.' He chuckled. 'You better go, see you whenever you get back.'

'Will do, oh and call if you or Lex needs me!' I quickly hugged him, looking at Lexie again before leaving to meet up with the others.

We got off the bus, looking at the shops on the main downtown Chicago road. The first thing we saw was a couple of retro shops, with souvenir shops at the other end of the road.

'Whoa, look at these vintage stores!' Riker's jaw dropped open. 'This looks so coooool.' He whispered loudly as we walked inside the first one.

'It's pretty awesome in here.' I nodded, walking round with him and pointing random things out. 'Oh Ri, look at this!' I grinned as we got into the far corner, spotting a record player, with some vinyls stacked next to it.

'Aw wow!' His eyes lit up. 'Are we allowed to listen to it?'

'Uh…' I looked at the sign. 'Yeah, as long as we're careful.' I shrugged.

'Cool!' He grinned, picking up a random Beatles album and putting the needle on it.

After lunch, we walked along to look in the souvenir shops to pick something out to take home. There was mostly tat in there, with the odd weird bits.

'Guys!' Mr Schue got everyone's attention. 'We have just enough budget left to by everyone a Chicago t-shirt.'

'Awesome!' We nodded.

'That includes our supporters.' He looked at Ri, Max, and Kurt. 'Lauren, I'm putting you in charge of picking one out for Lexie and your brother.'

'I'm on it.' I jokingly saluted, smirking when everyone laughed.

'Heeeeey!' I sang as I got back into the room, telling Blaine and Lex that I was back.

'Lauren!' Lexie stood up from her bed, running over to me and throwing her arms around my waist.

'Hi Babybel!' I grinned. 'Were you a good girl for Blainers?'

'Uh huh!' She nodded enthusiastically. 'I'm gonna go see Tana and Britt-Britt.' She grabbed her key card before running out.

'Okay, so how was she really?' I turned to Blaine, sitting next to him on the bed.

'She was great! There were a few tears when she woke up, upset that you and Santana left without saying goodbye, but she quickly got over it.'

'Gooood. What about you, did you get your work done?'

'Yup!' He nodded at his closed math book. 'So, did you get anything nice?'

'Oh I got this shirt for you, bought by the New Directions Nationals budget.' I gave it to him, laying Lex's on her bed. 'And I bought Mom a little gift from us, that'll keep Dad sweet, right?'

'Hopefully!' He laughed.

Riker's POV

I looked at my watch, sighing when I realized that there was still like an hour left of Lauren's rehearsal before dinner.

'I'm going on a walk, are you coming?' I turned to Max, rolling my eyes when he was absorbed by his Nintendo game.

'Nah, see you later Ri.' He shrugged; I'm not totally convinced he knew what I was talking about, but I took his reply anyway. As I walked down the corridor, I suddenly heard a bang, followed by running footsteps. Frowning, I followed the sound of the steps round the corner, feeling a pang of sympathy when I saw Lex on the floor, slouched against the wall.

'Lex?' I crouched down next to her.

'R-Ri?' She looked at me sadly, looking completely lost. I shook my head, helping her stand up before walking to their room with her.

'Hey Lex, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?' I kneeled in front of her as she sat on her bed.

'She… she's been really mean to me…' She burst into tears.

'Who?'

'Kitty… she pushed me into the wall really hard, it hurt! And she always says that I'm a baby, and that I shouldn't be in high school, even though I can do everything she can! I just need help sometimes, because I get sad and get in trouble.'

'I understand, honey. Everyone loves you just the way you are, even if that means you need help with some things.'

'But I'm really scared, what if she does something really bad? I don't wanna tell Tana or Laurie, because they might make it worse.' She sniffled.

'How about I put my number in your phone, and then if anything happens, you can call me and I can try make you feel better? Does that sound good?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded. 'Thanks Ri.'

'Do you wanna go back to practice?' I sat next to her.

'No, can we read?' She asked, blushing slightly.

'Sure.' I chuckled, letting her snuggle into my side while pulling out a random book from under her pillow.

Lauren's POV

We finished up our last routine, turning to Mr Schue and Coach Sylvester as soon as the music died down.

'I think… that we're ready for Nationals!' Mr Schue grinned, laughing when we all sighed in relief and high fived each other.

'I want you to all go to bed, and rest for the morning. You're going to need it.' Sue nodded at us.

'Especially you Lex, come on.' Santana said just for us to hear, letting Lexie wrap her arms around her. 'You too Laur.' She held her hand out to me, and I rolled my eyes but happily took San's hand within my own.

'I think I need some sleep.' I yawned, letting San lead me to our room.

'Lex!' I shook her awake.

'Whaaaat?' She groaned, rubbing her eyes.

'Today's the big day! Time to perform!'

'It iiiiisssss?' Her eyes widened, jumping out of bed.

'Yup! So get washed up, put your dressing gown on, and we'll go to the girl's group room. We'll do your make up and put on our dresses once we're there.' I grinned.

I ran off stage with the others, high fiving Lexie as soon as we were backstage.

'That was awesoooome!' She grinned, running over to the boys as soon as we saw them. 'Hey guys!'

'You were brilliant, Beautiful.' Riker walked up to me, putting his hands round the back of my head and kissing me deeply.

'It's because you were there.' I pulled back slightly, staying close as his hands travelled down to my back, holding my body as close to his as possible.

'Guuuuuuys…' Lexie whined. 'It's been like five minutes, we need to get back to the group.'

'What are you lot doing next?' Riker asked, looking down at me.

'Mr Schue's taking us out for a pizza lunch, and then we're free to do whatever we want.'

'He just said that you guys can come with us, seeing as you came to support us.' Lexie added.

'Awesome!' I grinned. 'Let's go.'

When we were allowed to go and explore Chicago, me and Lex went with Riker, Blaine, Kurt, and Max to go find the local mall. San and Britt let Lexie go with instructions for me to look after her, which I immediately agreed with; I was not going to let her out of my sight… at least when I wasn't looking straight into Riker's eyes. Kurt was there, it'll be okay.

'Oh my gosh look at that!' Lexie called from ahead of all of us, both her and Max pointing at the massive building that was the mall.

'This is gonna be epic!' Max smirked, high fiving Lex.

'Whoa.' My jaw dropped. 'Now that is what I call a mall.'

'Look at the shops they have.' Kurt nodded, grabbing a map. 'All of these fashion outlets! And even a few Broadway inspired places! They even have an entertainment section, with a cinema, arcades, and things like that!'

'Can we play laser tag?' Lexie asked hopefully, seeing the sign for it.

'Sure we can Lex! We'll play later, okay?' Blaine winked at her.

'Nooooo!' She whined. 'I wanna play nooow!'

'Babybel, don't start.' I raised my eyebrow at her. 'We're going to have a nice afternoon, don't ruin it by throwing a tantrum.'

'But…' She trailed off, pouting with tears in her eyes.

'C'mon Lex, get on my back. I'll carry you.' Riker smiled, bending down slightly so she could jump up.

'Well you're not immune yet, are you?' I smirked. To be fair to him, Lexie's hurt puppy face is pretty award winning.

Riker's POV

'Laur, me and Lex are going over there.' I nodded my head over in a vague direction.

'Okaaaaaaay…' She narrowed her eyes slightly, before nodding herself.

'We'll be back soon.' I called as I walked away.

'Where are we going?' Lex asked from above me.

'We're here.' I laughed as we got to the flower stall I saw. 'Hi, can I just have one red rose please?'

'Oooh is that for Lauren?'

'Yupo.' I smirked.

'$3 please.' The florist took my money, before wrapping some tissue paper around a rose and handing it to me.

'Here Lex, hold this for me.'

'Kaaaaaay.'

Lauren raised an eyebrow at me as we got back to the group, looking really confused.

'Lex?' I simply said, smiling as she held the flower forward. 'This is for you, Lauren.'

'Really?' She took it. 'Wow. Just… wow. Thank you, Rikey!' She went on her tiptoes and kissed me lightly.

'That red rose is a symbol of my love for you, Beautiful.' I made the kiss deeper.

'You never fail to surprise me with your gifts.' She smiled, gazing at the rose wistfully.

'Can I get down? This is gross to watch.' Lex wriggled slightly on my back.

'Haha sorry Lex!' I let her jump down, straightening up to hug Lauren.

Lauren's POV

As we got to the hour mark of our shopping trip, Lexie and Max were getting bored, and were mucking around. As I was about to get mad and tell Lexie off, I noticed a shop nearby that she _could _be interested in.

'Guys, let's look in here!' I pulled them all inside, rolling my eyes at the weird looks Blaine and Kurt were giving me.

'Laur, this is a kids' clothes shop…'

'I've not dragged you all in here for me. I dragged you all in here for Lexie.'

'Ohhh that makes a lot more sense.'

'Come on Babybel, let's go look around.' I took her hand, walking around the store. 'How much money do you have, babes?'

'Uuuuum, I brought $40 of my saved up allowance, and Burt gave me $20 before we left, so $60.'

'Awesome. Is there anything you wanna get?'

'I don't know.' She bit her lip.

'Oh my god!' I pulled her over to a rack. 'Britt and San love you in those overalls, right? Why don't you get another pair?'

'These _are _pretty cool. I'm gonna get some!'

'Which ones? The ones you've already got are flowery, so how about… the pink ones with hearts?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded. 'And the yellow ones.' I kinda grimaced at those. Although Lex would look super cute in them…

'Lex, you know there's a duck on the front, right?'

'Yeah… I like it. It brings it together.' She shrugged. 'And Britt-Britt would like it even more.'

'That is very true, you're right. But Lex, if you get them, make sure you don't wear them to school.'

'Why?' She frowned.

'Because Kitty will be on you. Don't make it hard on yourself Babybel.'

'I guess… I'm still gonna get them.'

'Oh Lex, the plain ones are kinda cheaper, you should get the light green ones; they'd go great with your Wicked shirt! And maybe a pair of red ones, for your plain white t-shirts.'

'Good idea Laurie, thanks.' She hugged me, picking up her size in all the designs she wanted, before dragging me to the pay desk with her.

'Guys, ready for laser tag?' Blaine asked as we got to the little arcade area.

'YES!' Lex and Max shouted, Lexie jumping up and down.

'Calm down Lex.' I laughed, following everyone inside.

'Hi guys!' One of the workers smiled as we walked in, quickly doing a head count. 'Just six of you?'

'Yes please.' Kurt nodded.

'Right then! In a minute you'll get into two teams, but I'll explain what happens first. So, each game has three rounds. In each round, the objective of the game is to shoot the other team until all their lives have run out.' He walked through a door labelled "equipment room", picking up one of the chest pieces. 'You see the big circle here? This is your main target, and will get you more points than the targets on the arms and the helmet. The circles light up, and it's color coordinated: green, your team has lost none of the lives. Yellow: your team has lost one of your lives. And lastly red. If your target is red, your team only has one life left. You lose lives by the other team gaining points by shooting you. Any questions?'

'I don't think so…' Blaine indicated for him to continue when we all stayed silent.

'Okay. Get into teams, put the equipment on, and then when I come back, I'll let you put your things into a locker.'

'Great, thanks.' He nodded as the man left the room. 'Guys, teams?'

'I want to be with Rikey.' I said, holding his arm.

'Okay, I want to be with Kurt. That means Max and Lexie, you have to decide what team you want to be in.'

'Uuuuh…. I'll go with Ri.' Max walked over to us, leaving Lex to walk over to Kurt and Blaine.

'That okay Alex?' Kurt asked.

'Uh huh.' She nodded enthusiastically, grinning. 'Can we be the red team?'

'Sure honey!' He laughed, helping her put the red stuff on.

Riker's POV

I looked around the first area, not seeing any of the other team. Suddenly, I heard running, so hid behind one of the columns that were there.

'I'M GONNA GET YOU LEXIE!' I heard Max shout, so I peaked around the corner to see Lexie running towards my area, followed by him.

'AHH!' Lex cried as I jumped out in front of her, holding each of her arms. 'RIKEEEEEER LET ME GO!'

'NOPE! Go on Max, shoot her with your laser!'

'Noooooo!' She whined, trying to wriggle away from me.

'Ahaha thanks Ri!' Max got into position, pointing his laser gun, when Lexie stomped on my foot – not hard, but it made me let go of her. She threw herself on the floor, to avoid Max's aim, and rolled away before standing up; spinning around, she shot her laser at my chest, and before I knew what was happening, the blue team were flashing red, and she ran away.

'Come on!' Max ran off, and I followed him to find the red team and try and get this round back to us.

'Okay, so that's the end of round three! Let's look at the scores.' The worker pressed a button, and the scores came up on a screen. 'Right. As you can see, the winners are the red team with 3798 points, compared to the blue team's measly 1569!'

'Damn it!' Lauren sighed, slumping against me slightly.

'Well done guys.' I rolled my eyes.

'So, winners get prizes!' The guy reemerged. 'This is for you.' He placed a plastic tiara on Lexie's head, and she looked so pleased, bless her. 'And these… are for you guys.' He handed Kurt and Blaine a little trophy each.

'Aw this is really neat, thanks!' Blaine smiled, winking at Kurt.

'Would you all mind if I take a picture of the two teams? One for the winners' wall and one for the losers' wall?'

'Yeah, that's fine!' We all said simultaneously, breaking out in laughter straight after.

Lexie's POV

'Why did you brush your teeth, Laur?' I looked up at her as she walked out of our bathroom.

'Oh…' She bit her lip. 'I just felt a little bit gross, I guess.'

'Well that makes sense.' I smiled.

'So, I'm going to Riker's room… will you be okay on your own for a bit?'

'Uh… yeah, I should be fine.'

'Good. I have my phone on me, so call if you need me. It's 8 now… I'll be back by 9:30 at the latest.'

'Awesome. See you later!' I stood up and hugged her, before laying on my bed again to read the magazine I bought myself.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Frowning, I stood up and opened it, smiling when Max was there.

'Uh, hey dude, sup?' I walked back inside, letting him close the door behind him.

'I got thrown out of our room…'

'Oh yeah, Lauren said she was going to see Riker.'

'So do you have your one?' He held up his DS console.

'Yup, we said we should bring them.' I grabbed mine from the bedside table.

'Cool. Start with our usual?'

'Sure!' I clicked the Mario Kart game into the DS, sitting on my bed before turning it on and connecting with his over wifi.

'Ugh.' I said as someone knocked on the door like an hour later. 'Who is it?' I called out, laying on my bed as Max laid on Lauren's.

'Guess who, Lex.'

'Oh. Come on in Tana!'

'Lexie, we're in a hotel… I can't come in without a key card.'

'Ohhhh yeaaaaah.' I paused the game, running to open the door.

'You alright Lex?' She walked in behind me. 'Oh, hey Max…' She frowned, staring at me. 'Um, Lex… why is Max here? It's kinda late, you should be getting ready for bed.'

'Tanaaaaa, we're in the middle of a game…' I pointed at my console.

'I better be going…' Max stood up. 'Night Lex, see ya in the morning.' He nodded at us, before quickly leaving the room.

'What was he doing here?' Santana turned to me, raising her eyebrow at me scarily.

'Lauren went to Riker's room, so Max got kicked out… We've been playing Mario Kart for the last hour.'

'Riiiight.' She narrowed her eyes. 'It's ten past 9, you should start getting ready for bed.'

'I am feeling a little tired.' I nodded, grabbing my pjs.

Lauren's POV

I kissed Riker one last time.

'Goodnight Beautiful, see you in the morning.'

'Of course! Bright and early to pack and then go to the awards ceremony.' I nodded, blushing at the wink he sent me before walking away from his room.

'Hey Laur!' I saw Max, on his way back to the room.

'Hi Max, I thought you were hanging with Lex?'

'Yeaaaah… That girl who's overly protective of her… Santana? Yeah she turned up to check on Lex… it was kinda awkward when she realized I was in there, so I left.'

'Ohhh fair enough. Well as you can see, I'm already gone haha.' I laughed.

'Yup!' He nodded. 'Anyway, I'll let you get back to her.' He moved to the side, letting me past.

'Thanks Max.' I smiled.

'Hey, are you okay Babybel?' l asked Lex after I got ready for bed, noticing that she looked a little down.

'Uh, yeah… I'm just thinking about my dad. I mean, it happened just after our last competition, its making me feel sad.' Tears began to well in her eyes.

'Aww, Lex!' I sat down next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. 'It's okay to feel sad about it. There's only one mug in here, but do you want to share a hot chocolate?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded, smiling slightly.

'I'll go sort it out.' I winked at her, walking over to the desk that had the little hotel kettle on it.

I took a sip of the drink, taking a bigger gulp when I realized it was cooled down enough.

'Here ya go Lex.' I handed it to her. 'Not too hot, not too cold. Just how you like it.'

'Thanks Laur.' She whispered, immediately drinking some of it.

'How are you feeling now, Babybel?'

'A bit better, I guess. I just wanna go home now, back to Lima.'

'That makes sense, babes. It's nice to get in your own bed again, I guess being away doesn't make you feel less sad?'

'Not really…' She handed me back the mug. 'Can I sleep in your bed tonight?'

'Sure you can Lex!' I took one more mouthful of the cocoa, giving the little bit left to Lexie. 'Go to the bathroom now, and then we'll get all snuggly and comfortable.'

'Kay.' She nodded, standing up and slowly walking to the en suite.

The next morning, we were shaken awake by Brittany, with Santana sitting on the other bed.

'Briiiittttt, what's up?' I frowned at the light in the room, slowly uncurling from Lexie.

'You've missed breakfast.' Santana stood up, helping Lex get out of bed. 'You have to get ready like now so we can go to the awards ceremony.'

'What do we have to wear?' Lexie whispered, leaning into Santana's hug.

'Our performance dresses. We have to take what we're wearing on the bus home in a bag, and we'll change in the green room before we leave.'

'Kay.' Lex nodded.

'Come on love, get out of bed now.' Brittany pulling the quilt back and sitting me up.

'Ugh, I'm really tired. More than usual.' I rubbed my eyes.

'You'll be okay once you've woken up properly.' San smiled, directing Lexie into the bathroom. 'We'll let you get dressed; you've got half an hour.'

'Half the circle on my watch…' Brittany mumbled as they started to walk out. Shit half an hour? Dammit that's not long!

'Hurry up Babybel, we don't have much time!' I called into the bathroom.

'Okaaaaaaay.' She called back, sounding overly tired; I can't believe we overslept!

Blaine's POV

'Welcome to the awards ceremony of the National Show Choir competition 2013!' The host said into his mic.

'How long is this gonna take?' Max whispered as two members from each group came onto stage.

'I don't know. They've got some professional choir performing at some stage as well.' I shrugged, looking out for Rachel and Finn.

'So the plan for today!' The host continued. 'I will be announcing the top three groups. Then, everyone will leave the stage, and the Chicago State Choir will perform, before a short interval. After the break, the three groups will come back on stage, and I will tell you the order of which they've placed.'

'Ugh I wish he'll get on with it.' Max sighed, and I rolled my eyes as the stage went dark.

'The three groups coming back later are: Vocal Adrenaline.' A spotlight shone on Unique and some random guy. 'The New Directions.' We all screamed, standing up and cheering. 'And the Portland Scale Blazers!' There were some cheering from the audience, but not as much as when the light shone onto Finn and Rachel.

'Riker are you okay?' Kurt asked.

'You do look pale.' I nodded when I looked.

'Uh, I guess I've got a headache… and I feel tired.'

'Tell me if you feel worse.' Kurt said, frowning.

'Yeah… yeah I will.' He kinda rasped. That didn't sound good.

Santana's POV

We walked back on stage, with Mr Schue. Ms P, Coach Sylvester and Beiste sat in the audience, cheering us on.

'Okay!' The host came in front of all the groups. 'The choir that came third is the…'

'Britt-Britt?' I heard from just to the left of me; I turned, to see Lexie stare up at her.

'Yes darling?' My girlfriend looked down at her, smiling.

'I don't feel too good.' She scrunched her nose. 'My throat hurts.'

'Aww honey!'

'Can you carry me? I'm all achy and tired.'

'Of course!' Britt quickly picked her up, putting Lex's weight on her hip. I turned back to the front, glancing at Lauren, who was between me and Quinn. She suddenly looked really uncomfortable, having watched the whole exchange.

'You feel the same, don't you?' I raised my eyebrow at her, and she slowly nodded at me, leaning into my side when I put my arm around her.

'Shh guys.' Rachel whispered back at us, and we quickly silenced.

'And the National Champions 2013 are: from Lima, Ohio, the NEW DIRECTIONS!' Our side of the stage lit up, and we all screamed.

'OH MY GOSH WE DONE IT!' Quinn shouted, quickly hugging both me and Lauren. Oh wow this is amazing, I can't believe it! Actually we were the best, of course we won! We deserve this so much!

'Woo! That was awesome! Ahh!' There were shouts of these coming from everyone as we walked into the green room.

'NEW DIRECTIONS 2013!' Mr Schue called to everyone.

'YEAH!' We all pretty much shouted back.

'This is awesome! And I know you all want to celebrate, but you all have to get ready! Meet me outside in half an hour!' We all dispersed into little groups, grabbing our bags.

'Tana?' Lex came up to me, looking really pale. 'Do we have to change? I don't wanna.'

'Why not, babes?' Quinn bent down in front of her.

'It's too much effort.' She whispered. 'It hurts to move.'

'Come on, I'll help you change.' Quinn took her hand, giving me a knowing look before walking off.

'Do you need help as well?' I turned to Lauren, watching her as she looked up at me, looking kinda confused.

'Huh? I mean… no, I'm fine.' She said slowly and quietly.

'Okay.' I narrowed my eyes slightly. 'Get changed.' I pulled her to stand up. 'Laur, tell me if you don't feel well. Remember my dad's a doctor, I might be able to help.' She shrugged slightly, dragging herself to her bag to get changed.

Quinn's POV

I walked back over to the others with Lexie, watching as Brittany's face lit up.

'Aww Lexie! Look at you in those overalls! You look so cute!' She picked her up.

'Thanks Britt-Britt.' She whispered, resting her head on her shoulder.

'Uh, Quinnie?' Lauren walked over to me, looking down to the floor.

'What's up Laurie, are you okay?'

'Uh… I'm not fee- um yeah I'm fine, can I sit with you on the bus please?'

'Yeah, sure you can Lauren.' I smiled reassuringly, taking her into a big hug; I could tell she needed that.

'Who do you wanna sit with, Lexie?' Britt asked her.

'No one, I wanna sit alone.'

'Sure?'

'Uh huh.' She nodded, beginning to suck her thumb.

We had been travelling for about an hour and a half, and Lauren was curled up on the seat, her head on my lap as she slipped in and out of sleep. Everyone else were really happy, and it was honestly like a party bus, it was so awesome! Suddenly, Lexie stood up from opposite us, obviously going diagonally forward to see Britt and San.

'Lexie, sit down! No walking on the bus!' Mr Schue called from the front, not unkindly, but we could tell he was being serious; Lexie turned in his direction, looking like a deer caught in headlights, and suddenly burst into tears. Santana immediately pulled her towards their seat, hugging her close.

'Baby, what's wrong? Why are you crying, hmm?'

'Mr Schue… and… and I don't… I don't feel g-g-good.' She whimpered into Santana's side, still crying.

'Britt, can you get one of the teachers please?'

'Sure Sanny!' Brittany stood up, quickly walking to the front of the bus.

'Lauren, how do you feel?' Santana looked back at us.

'Horrible.' She groaned, curling up closer to me.

'Girls, what's wrong?' Coach Sylvester came and sat on Lexie's empty seat, where she could speak to both of them. 'I can see you're both pale and clammy…'

'I have a sore throat…' Lexie whined slightly, wincing as it obviously hurt her.

'Me too. And a headache.' Lauren nodded.

'They woke up late earlier, and they've been tired since.' Santana added.

'And they've been achy all day.' Britt agreed, playing with Lexie's hair.

'Hmm.' Coach frowned slightly, reaching over and feeling both of their foreheads. 'You've both got a fever.'

'It sounds like mono, Coach.' Santana looked at her.

'Sure does, Sandbags. When we get home, can you get your father to check on them?'

'I'll try, I'm sure he will.' She nodded.

'Good. Girls, there's spare seats upfront, I want you to come sit there so we can keep an eye on you.'

'Okay.' They both shrugged, slowly getting up.

'Come on then, let's go.' Coach kindly took Lexie's hand, leading her and Lauren to the spare seat, setting them down together and covering them with a large blanket.

Wait. Blaine's driving Riker's car, because he's sick… is that why Lauren's sick? It must be! I decided to call Kurt…

'Hey Kurt!'

'Um, hey Quinn, everything okay?' He questioned.

'Yeah… Um, how's Riker doing?'

'He's got kinda worse, actually. He's asleep now, but before, he was complaining of a sore throat.'

'Does he have a fever?'

'Uh….' There was a pause. 'Yeah he does… why?'

'Lauren and Lexie are the same. We think it's mono.'

'Ohh… That would make sense… At least for Lauren and Riker.'

'Yeah…' Wait… how has Lexie got the kissing disease then? 'Anyway, I'll let you go. See you when we get back to Lima.'

'Will do, bye Quinn.' I frowned as he hung up, thinking… why is Lexie so sick?

'Hey guys!' Kitty came to sit next to me, as San and Britt were turned back to me.

'Um, hi Kitty!' Brittany grinned.

'So, I just wanted to tell you something about Lex.'

'Go ahead…' Santana narrowed her eyes curiously.

'Both before dinner last night, and after breakfast this morning, I saw Lexie and that weird Warbler boy together.'

'Yeah, they're friends…'

'They seemed kinda close… like, they were laughing and goofing off… it just seemed very suspicious…'

'Uh… thanks Kitty.'

'That's okay guys. Anyway, I better be going.' She stood up, flouncing off back to her seat.

'San?' Brittany bit her lip at the thoughtful expression Santana had.

'Max… he was in Lexie's room last night, he was there for like an hour.'

'Hmm…'

'San.' I started. 'Let's wait until she's feeling a little better, but we'll question her, okay?'

'Sure Q. Because if she's been kissing some boy without telling me, ima go all Lima Heights!'

'Calm it San.' I raised my eyebrow at her.

'Yeah Sanny, don't jump to conclusions.' Britt kissed her reassuringly.

We pulled up in the school parking lot, and most of the group ran off the bus to go inside, leaving the teachers, San, Britt, me, and the girls. As Mr Schue went to meet Burt, who was picking up Lex, Blaine came onto the bus.

'Hey Laurie!' He helped her sit up. 'How are you feeling?'

'Like rubbish.' She put her head in her hands.

'We arrived about ten minutes ago, and I spoke to Mom. She basically didn't want you at home while you were sick, because you're weaker and whatever; I arranged for you to go stay with Q at her house, is that okay?'

'Uh yeah. Thanks, Blainers.'

'Don't thank me, sis. Me, Mom, and Judy don't want you to be in the same house as Dad, not when you're ill.'

'I guess…'

'Judy's outside to pick you up.' He stood her up, taking her arm to help her off of the bus.

'See you at home then Laur!' I waved her off.

'I better go talk to Burt. Tell your Mom that my Dad will come along soon.' Santana hugged me goodbye.

'Okay, see you inside later.' I winked at her, rolling my eyes when Brittany skipped off.


End file.
